


Forgotten Ghosts

by Badliar27



Category: Midsomer Murders - All Media Types
Genre: Gen
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-08-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:26:59
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 13
Words: 22,408
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26020360
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Badliar27/pseuds/Badliar27
Summary: I came up with this while watching midsomer murders. I thought what if Gavin Troy and Cully had gotten married? What if they had a child who also wanted to become a detective? This story is about that child who goes to midsomer looking for a fresh start but when her fathers past comes to haunt her will Gavin be able to save her? This is my first ever fanfiction so thank you for reading :)
Comments: 6
Kudos: 9





	1. Chapter 1

The old lady slowly walked into the room and strode towards the elaborate wooden desk. She sat down on the plush chair behind the desk and looked upon them.

“Welcome Simone Hollingsworth and Vince Perry. It is a pleasure to have you here.” she said.

Simone looked at the ground, 'Yeah well you bailed us out so it’s not like we had a choice.' she thought to herself.

“I’m sure you’re wondering why I brought you here, and bailed you from jail. Lets see if this name rings a bell Gavin Troy or Sergeant Troy.” The old lady purred.

Both Simone and Vince perked up with angry looks on their faces.

The lady chuckled, “That's what I thought. We all have a score to settle with him. I’ve had this lovely lad next to me,” she motioned to the man standing next to her, “ follow Gavin for quite some time trying to find a weakness, some way to hurt him like he has hurt us. I bailed you out because we have finally found a way but we will need your help.”

Chapter one

Elizabeth sighed as she looked out the window of the cab watching all the buildings of London become smaller. She had recently ended a failed internship with the London police and she was just about ready to give up on her dream of becoming a detective. Elizabeth almost hated living in the shadows of her father and grandfather since her father was Gavin Troy, one of the youngest Detective sergeants around, and her grandfather had been his superior. Elizabeth had hoped to be like her father, and become a young DS, but for the London police department. Unfortunately, the DCI wouldn’t let her do anything but interviews for cases. Some angry tears started to roll down her cheeks as the reminder of her last case there ran through her mind.

“We’ve just entered Midsomer county Ma’am. Where is it you want me to take you again?” the driver asked, snapping her away from her thoughts.

Quickly wiping the tears from her face she replied “ Causton police department please. My Uncle works there, he said to stop by and he will give me the house address.”.

The driver looked at her curiously but kept going. Sure John Barnaby wasn’t actually her Uncle but for some reason she had called him that all her life. She went back to staring out the window, but this time enjoying all the quaint towns of Midsomer county. Merely knowing her mother had grown up here, and her father had solved so many murders in these counties made her excited with a desire to explore it all. Elizabeth became so lost in her day dreams she hadn't realized the car had come to a stop.

"Ma'am we are here." The driver said bringing her back to reality.

She sat still for a moment, pondering what to say to her Uncle. Truth be told, she had actually lost his home address and wasn’t sure how to go about asking him.

“Ma’am did you not hear me? We are at the Causton police department like you asked.”

“Oh sorry.” she replied, quickly getting out of the cab.

She headed into the police station, and found it odd there was no one there to attend to her, and no one seemed to notice a stranger had walked in. Elizabeth wandered back towards the investigation department, hoping her Uncle would be there. Thankfully he was, but looked clearly busy. She took a deep breath, nervously raising her hand and knocked on the door. He looked up with an annoyed look on his face until he realized it was her. John Barnaby rolled his eyes and with a slight grin motioned her in.

She opened the door, “Elizabeth what are you doing here? Shouldn’t you be at the house?” John asked her.

“Well yes, but you’re going to laugh so... I may have accidentally lost your address..” she replied, forcing a chuckle.

He looked at her for a minute before sighing. “And why didn’t you call or text me or Sarah? You know what, I don’t want to know.” John sighed again and jotted down the address on a piece of paper. “Here you go, try not to lose it. Now I am sorry, but I’m busy with a case. I’ll see you at the house.”.

“Thank you Uncle! See you later!” she replied giving him a quick hug and turning to head out the door.

Not completely paying attention she almost ran into the tall male figure that appeared in the doorway.

“Oh sorry!” she said.

“Don’t be it was my fault.” the man replied, stepping out of her way.

“Thank you!” she replied, flashing him a quick smile, as she started to make her way back to the front doors.

Lost in thought over how handsome the guy was she was startled to hear a female voice yell her name. “ELIZABETH TROY!”.

Shocked, she looked around trying to figure out who had said it.

An elderly woman stepped towards her, “Elizabeth Troy! My how you've grown! You look so much like your father.” she cooed to her.

Confused, Elizabeth went to open her mouth to ask how the woman knew her but the woman simply smiled and winked at her as she walked away. Elizabeth stood still for a moment, confused, but soon remembered the cab waiting outside. She ran toward the vehicle, taking her place in the back, before giving the driver the address. She spent the rest of the trip to the Barnaby’s trying to figure out if she knew the woman and how she could possibly know Elizabeth's name.

  
Meanwhile back at the police station:

  
“Sir who was that girl?” Nelson asked.

“ Oh, just a distant relative. She will be staying with Sarah and myself for a bit. She may intern here for a bit as well.” Barnaby replied going back to work. “Oh you still coming for dinner later? You will properly get to meet her if you do, and if you come, mind seeing if Kate will join?”

“I was definitely planning on still coming over sir. I'll make sure to see

if Kate still wants to join, I'm sure she would love to as well.” Nelson replied, getting back to work himself.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Fair warning this story isn't fully in Elizabeth's point of view. It'll be more clear the more you read. Hope you enjoy :)


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This chapter is to give a bit more background to Elizabeth's story.

Charlie and Kate made their way towards the Barnaby’s front door, they could hear what sounded like arguing coming from inside the house. Charlie glanced at Kate before knocking on the door.

“It’s open come in guys!” Sarah yelled.

Charlie held the door open for Kate as they walked into the house.

“Hey guys how are you doing?” Sarah entered the room quickly as if stopping them from entering the kitchen.

While Kate and Sarah began making idle chatter, Charlie was curious what John could be arguing about that Sarah didn’t want them to hear.

Casually, he leaned against the wall in an attempt to hear the argument, “Seriously how do you not find it suspicious?” the female huffed.

“How is it supposed to be suspicious? It was just some old woman who knew who you were!” John replied clearly annoyed.

Charlie was unable to hear the woman's reply, only John's response, “That's enough company is here, maybe we can discuss this more tomorrow.”.

John appeared at the doorway with an obviously fake smile, “Nelson, Kate! Welcome, dinners almost ready!”.

Sarah stepped to the side to let the pair in. The woman, who was sitting at the table, was leaning back with her arms across her chest looking irritated, and seemed to not notice the newcomers, until John cleared his throat. Elizabeth rolled her eyes, and looked up at John and company putting on a broad smile.

“Hello! My name is Elizabeth, and you are?” she exclaimed getting up out of her chair, and looking directly at Charlie.

“I’m Charlie, but Barnaby usually just calls me Nelson.”

“I’m Kate! I work at the station with these two, in the forensics department. It’s a pleasure to meet you.” Kate smiled at her, extending her hand towards Elizabeth.

Sarah walked into the kitchen holding Betty, who had just woken up from her nap. All attention was now focused on the baby. After a bit of everyone swooning over Betty, they all settled in to eat dinner. Elizabeth remained grateful that no one was asking questions about her, as she was still uncertain about her interaction at the police station. She sat back and just listened to the conversation that was taking place. The group were talking about their current case, with everyone giving thoughts and opinions on who the murderer could be, well minus Elizabeth who was lost in her own thoughts. After dinner everyone moved to the living room, and as no one noticed Elizabeth hadn’t joined them, she decided to go out to the garden to think. She wandered out, and headed towards the nearest bench letting her thoughts consume her.

‘Who was that lady? She didn’t look like any teacher I’ve had, or look familiar at all. Dad said no one here should know who I am, minus the Barnaby’s. So no one should know who I am here, so how did she?! Perhaps, I should call my father, but he probably wouldn’t believe me either, or tell me I was overreacting like Uncle did. But she mentioned how much I’ve grown, and how much I look like my father! Maybe Mum would believe me, she would be able to convince Uncle and father if she did. But then I’m sure her and dad would want me to come home and I don’t want that…..'

“What are you doing out here by yourself?” the male voice cut through the night, bringing her back to reality.

Surprised Elizabeth glanced around to see who was talking to her. Her eyes fell on Charlie as he sat down on the seat adjacent to her.

“Well? Why are you out here by yourself?” Charlie chuckled upon seeing her confusion at him appearing so suddenly.

“Just a lot on my mind.” Elizabeth replied blushing slightly.

“Well would you like to talk about it?" He probed gently, "If not maybe you could tell me about yourself. I felt bad that no one spoke to you during dinner, and I have to admit I’m curious as to how you know Barnaby.” Charlie smiled watching her blush slightly and push her hair back behind her ear before looking at him.

“He’s related to my grandfather mainly, he’s my mother's second cousin though.”

“ Wait, who is your grandfather? Don’t tell me it's the Tom Barnaby?” Nelson asked excitedly.

“Yeah, Tom Barnaby is my grandfather. My dad worked with him for years, that's how he met mum.”

“I’ve heard so much about his cases, it would have been awesome to have had the chance to work with him! Wait….which DS of Tom's is your father?” Charlie asked, his face lit up with a mixture of curiosity and excitement.

“Doubt you’ve heard of him, it's been years since dad has worked in Midsomer, but Gavin Troy. He prides himself on being one of the youngest Detective Sergeants of his time, mum said he wasn’t always the brightest though.” Elizabeth chuckled, remembering her mother and grandfather's stories about her father.

Charlie’s face lit up in shock, “Wow related to Gavin Troy and Tom Barnaby! Now I’m starting to wonder if I should be worried about my job.” he chuckled.

Elizabeth laughed and rolled her eyes, “No, I’m taking a break. I didn’t have the best luck with my internship, I’m just looking to relax and recollect myself.”

“Wait, what happened? Well, if you don’t mind telling me that is.” he asked earnestly.

Elizabeth sighed, no she didn’t really want to talk about it, but there was something about Charlie that made her feel she could open up to him.

“So after college I had gotten a well sought after internship for the London police department. The DS was supposed to let me trail after him, learn from him, and eventually have me do a case without his help. But the DCI would not have it, he would only let me do interviews, that was it. I wasn’t allowed to give my input involving cases, nor was I allowed to do anything but stand there when they caught the murderers.”

“Wow, that's terrible.” Charlie gasped.

“Oh it gets worse." She said with a sardonic laugh. "So, the last case I was a part of, I was the only person who could have stopped the murderer from escaping. Well just before I could grab him the DCI grabbed me, and let him escape. The worst of it was he set up a trap in the area he ran to, leaving the police who pursued him to be brutally murdered. The DCI did nothing but stand there, holding me back. I’ve never been so angry or upset in my life, just standing there listening to all those people dying. It was horrific.” Elizabeth looked away as her anger rose at the memory.

Charlie leaned forward and put a comforting hand on her leg. “I’m so sorry that happened to you. I’m glad you left though, so you can heal. Is that what you and Barnaby were talking about earlier?”.

Elizabeth looked at him even more uncertain if she should tell him that particular thing or not.

“Ummm...no...not exactly….it’s silly though you don’t need to worry.” Elizabeth stammered.

“I am going to worry, it sounded serious! I’m assuming that's why you came out here by yourself. C'mon, you can tell me.” Charlie retorted with concern on his face.

“Okay." She took a deep breath before continuing, "When I was at the station earlier there was an old woman who recognized me. The problem is, I didn’t recognize her. She knew my name, said I looked like my father, and then walked away from me. Dad said no one here should know who I am, outside of the Barnaby’s. John thinks it's nothing to worry about, but I beg to differ.” Elizabeth sighed staring at the ground.

“Now that you mention it, I do recall seeing a strange woman right before I ran into you. I meant to mention it to Barnaby but I forgot. That does sound odd, and I think you should be careful.” Charlie responded.

“I want to call my dad and tell him, but I worry he will say the same as John, and not believe me. Sarah told me to just stay here and babysit Betty, but c'mon my mum grew up here and dad solved tons of mysteries in these towns, I can’t just sit here!” Elizabeth exclaimed.

After a moment of silence, Charlie looked at her, “Well I guess the best advice I have is think like a detective. I mean you grew up with two detectives, and went to school to become one. Think of what would help us to find you, should something go wrong.”.

“Charlie? Are you ready to leave?” Kate interrupted, sticking her head out the door.

Charlie nodded, “Good to meet you Elizabeth hope to see you soon!” he stood from the bench, and began walking to the door.

“Yeah great to meet you as well!” Kate smiled as she turned to follow Charlie.

Elizabeth sat in silence for a moment before John walked outside.

“I’m guessing you told Nelson didn’t you?”

“Yes I did, and he believed me!” Elizabeth huffed.

“Elizabeth, this is an old woman we are talking about! You just got here and no one knows you, so no one can possibly have a grudge against you! You don’t need to worry, it’s not like anyone is going to murder or kidnap you!” John retorted before storming back in the house.

Elizabeth sat in the cool darkness of the garden for a bit longer before she decided to return to the house and go to bed.


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elizabeth is finally getting out and exploring midsomer!

Elizabeth groaned as she flopped down onto the plush couch. It had been 5 days since she had arrived at the Barnaby’s, and she was dying to get out and explore. She, somewhat hesitantly, let Sarah talk her into babysitting Betty for the week. However, she was debating on whether or not she wanted to continue the arrangement into the next week, as well. After hearing her phone bing she sighed, and sitting up, looked to see who had messaged her. '

Hey I’m on my lunch whenever you’re ready to update me on Betty' -Sarah.

Truthfully this was the most quiet Betty had been all day, and Elizabeth wasn’t ready to jeopardize that.

But she also knew Sarah would keep messaging her until she responded, 'Just one moment, I need to find a quiet spot so I won’t wake her up' -Elizabeth.

Elizabeth snuck into the kitchen, and quietly sat down at the table before calling Sarah. Elizabeth had begun to wonder if Sarah was really doing these check-ups to make sure that she was okay, more so than Betty. They casually spoke for a few minutes, before Sarah returned to work. After the call, Elizabeth began to make herself some lunch. While waiting on the food to cook, she decided to go check on Betty. Elizabeth crept upstairs, and saw Betty still sleeping peacefully. After, she paused at her room and glanced in, remembering her notebook, which had all her original plans for this month written in it. She hated that her paranoia over that strange woman had ruined her first week in Midsomer. Grabbing the notebook, she headed back downstairs. While Elizabeth ate, she flipped through the pages, curious as to where she would have been at today.

‘Badgers drift eh? Grandpa told me they have lovely sceneries and historical buildings there. I think he also mentioned something about Grandma wanting to renew their wedding vows at the church there.’

Elizabeth lost herself in thoughts about the stories she had been told.

‘That's it I’ll finish babysitting Betty this week, but next week I’m getting out! I’ll write down where I’m going and all the places I intend to explore for Sarah. I’ll also make sure to write down the time I intend to be back at night, and my parents' numbers since I’m not sure if John and Sarah have them. I’ll tell Sarah my plans tonight when she gets home!’

At that moment Elizabeth heard Betty begin to cry, she quickly went up stairs to fetch the baby. Elizabeth spent the rest of the afternoon playing with Betty, while waiting for Sarah to get home. As Sarah walked in the door she was met by a wonderful smell. Curious she walked towards the kitchen.

“I’m home! Mmm it sure does smell good in here! What's the occasion?” Sarah chuckled.

“Oh go see Betty, and make yourself comfortable, I’ll tell you over dinner.”.

Elizabeth had spent the afternoon trying to figure out how best to tell Sarah her plan, and then planning it out. Nervously, Elizabeth set the table, and placed out the delicious smelling food. Sarah shook her head as she placed Betty in her high chair, and proceeded to make herself a plate of food.

The small group ate in silence for a moment before Sarah finally gave in, “ Alright will you please tell me what the occasion is for you to cook me dinner.”.

Elizabeth sighed, she started to play with her food a bit before she responded. “ So, I’ll finish this week of babysitting, but Monday I’m going to get out and explore.”.

Sarah looked up in shock.

“Now before you say anything I made sure to write down where I plan to go on Monday, including all the stops I intend to make. I also wrote down both Mother and Fathers numbers, and also have the time down when I plan to come home that night. I plan to be extra careful, I just can’t sit here any longer.” Elizabeth pleaded.

Sarah took a moment to process all the information before sighing and responding, “ Okay fine. I don’t blame you for wanting to get away. I appreciate the thoughtfulness in writing all that down for me. So, tell me where you plan to travel on Monday?”

“Badgers drift! Grandpa said he and grandma wanted to renew their wedding vows at the church there, plus dad said some of their oddest cases happened there as well.” Elizabeth replied excitedly.

At that moment John came through the door, grumbling about his case. While Sarah was still uncertain about Elizabeth going, she knew she couldn’t stop her.

  
Monday couldn’t come fast enough for Elizabeth. She awoke earlier than normal, and hurriedly got dressed, making sure she left the paper with all the information in clear sight on her bed. She bounded down the stairs, where she found Sarah had made breakfast already.

“Yum! I wasn’t expecting all this!” Elizabeth said as she started to make a plate.

“Well, John is getting close to solving his case, so I figured I better make sure he eats. Speaking of, you happen to need a lunch for later?”.

“No but thank you! I’m planning on stopping at one of the local pubs for lunch.”.

Elizabeth ate her food quickly and practically ran out the door in her excitement. Sarah had offered last night to drive her into town, but Elizabeth had declined, knowing they didn’t live too far from town. She hailed a cab and started her journey to Badgers Drift. Once she arrived, she spent the morning wandering around town enjoying all the picturesque shops. Elizabeth made mental notes of the houses where her father had said people had been murdered, or where the murders lived. Around lunch time, she headed towards the Black swan, both her father and grandfather had told her about how good the food was there. She made sure to order the food to go seeing as she had one or two more stops to make before heading back to the Barnaby's. After she was given her food she headed for the church. It looked so beautiful, she could see why her grandparents had wanted to renew their vows here. Elizabeth walked in and simply admired the beauty of the stained glass windows, and all the stonework.

“Excuse me, miss? Can I help you?” a voice came from out of nowhere .

A man, presumably the priest, had appeared and began walking towards her.

“Oh I’m sorry I was just admiring the church.” Elizabeth replied.

“Any particular reason why my dear?” asked the man.

“Well I guess my grandparents had wanted to renew their wedding vows here, so I wanted to see it for myself.”.

The priest nodded, and began to walk away. Elizabeth sat down in one of the pews, simply taking in all the beauty. After a few moments, she saw the priest glance her way, and assumed she had overstayed her welcome. As she was starting to get hungry, she decided to leave. Standing, she left the church, and walked to the small park nearby, sitting in the shade of a large tree. Elizabeth pulled out her planner as she started to eat, seeing as her excitement had gotten her through Badgers drift sooner than she had anticipated. While debating if she had time to stop anywhere else, she leaned against the tree taking a quick break and looking around. For being such a beautiful day, the park was oddly devoid of people, except for the one couple at the opposite end. Elizabeth froze uncertain if they were staring at her or not. Nervously, she finished eating, occasionally glancing up to see if the couple was still watching her. Elizabeth felt her anxiety rise when she realized they had moved closer to her. Quickly she started to gather up the few things she had taken out of her bag. As she was finishing, a hand appeared in front of her face, holding a piece of fabric. Elizabeth started to struggle as the fabric covered her face, but slowly everything went black.

Later that evening, Sarah was nervously pacing in the living room. Elizabeth was supposed to have been back hours ago. Sarah tried to call her cell phone, only to get the voice-mail again.

'This is so unlike Elizabeth to not answer me. Ugh John needs to hurry up, and get home. Perhaps I should call him…".

At long last the front door opened. Excitedly, Sarah ran to the door, hoping to see Elizabeth.

"Well hello Sarah, what's with the enthusiastic greeting?" John chuckled.

"Oh John, Elizabeth is missing! I can't seem to get ahold of her, and she was supposed to be back hours ago!" Sarah blurted out.

"Sarah honey relax. I'm sure she's just fine. Elizabeth seems to get easily distracted, she probably just lost track of time. I'm sure she will be home by tomorrow." John comforted his wife, "I've had a long day, let's just head to bed. I promise, if you don't hear from her by noon tomorrow Nelson and I will look into it."

"But John ,what if tomorrow is too late? What if she is murdered or worse?" Sarah sobbed.

"Who would want to murder her? From what I've gathered no one here should know who she is or who she is related to. Sarah trust me, I'm sure she is just fine." John retorted, heading to bed.

Sarah stayed up, her motherly instincts telling her something wasn't right. After a few hours she finally passed out in the rocker, clutching her phone to her chest.


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Elizabeth has been kidnapped! Time for Barnaby and Nelson to start looking for her!

John awoke early, eager to put the last pieces of his current case together. It was well after noon before he returned to the station, happy with the arrest he and Nelson had just made. Well, at least until he saw his wife sitting in his office with a stern look on her face.

“Sarah what brings you here?” inquired Nelson.

“So John hasn’t told you then eh?” Sarah glared over at her husband.

“No word from Elizabeth then?” John stuttered, attempting to avoid eye contact with Sarah.

Curiously Nelson looked back and forth between John and Sarah, waiting for someone to tell him what was going on.

Sarah finally looked over at Nelson, seeing his concern, she finally said, “Elizabeth is missing, I can’t seem to get a hold of her, and it has been 24 hours since I last heard from her. Please go search for her, this is the paper she left me that tells where all she intended to go yesterday. All her important numbers are on the other side of the paper, I also made sure to jot down her number as well.” Sarah handed Nelson the paper, as she got up to leave she made sure to give her husband one final glare.

“Well guess we better get looking then! Hmmm, seems she went to Badger's drift, sorta an odd place to go. Wait, should we call her parents?” pondered Nelson.

“No! Well not yet at least, lets just go look around Badgers drift first see what we can find. No point alarming them if everything is fine.” John replied.

Nelson stared at John inquisitively before slightly shrugging his shoulders and heading for the car. They spent the rest of the afternoon interviewing the people at all the stops she had made trying to find some sort of lead. Most everyone claimed they saw her but hadn’t noticed anything suspicious. Finally, at the church, they found some answers.

“Hello I’m DCI Barnaby and this is DS Nelson. We have some questions for you. Did you by chance happen to see this woman at all yesterday?” John asked the priest, showing him a picture of Elizabeth.

“Yes I did. She came here shortly after lunch, and said she wanted to admire the church.” the priest replied.

“Did you happen to notice anything out of the ordinary? Or perhaps seen where she went after admiring this church?” Nelson inquired.

“Well, while she was admiring the church, I could have sworn I saw what looked like a man and a woman watching her through the windows. After she left I saw her head towards that park. I’m uncertain if the couple followed her over or not.” he responded.

“Thank you sir. Nelson let's go.” Barnaby replied sternly.

“Sir, he said a couple was watching her. That doesn’t match Elizabeth’s description of an old woman.”

“Well Nelson if she has indeed been kidnapped, it's not like an old woman could easily do that herself.” John replied as they began to walk over towards the park.

They began to scour the park for any form of clues, “Over here sir!” Nelson shouted at John.

John ran over to where Nelson was crouched down under the shade of an enormous tree. He could see remnants of food wrappers, carefully he put on a glove and picked up one of the wrappers. Sure enough Elizabeth’s name was written on it, meaning they belonged to her. Among the few wrappers was an out of place black cloth.

“Nelson please pick up that cloth and take it to Kate in forensics to look at. Have her test it not just for fingerprints but also for drugs.” John asked.

At that moment John’s cell started to ring, it was Sarah. “Hey Sarah, it seems you were right, it appears Elizabeth has been taken. Sarah, what’s wrong?”.

All John could hear was sobbing on the other end of the line.

“Oh John, they sent a video to my phone, using her phone! It was awful! She was tied up, and they were making awful threats!” Sarah sobbed.

“We’ll be right there!” John bellowed, hanging up the phone.

“Sir? What happened?” Nelson asked, confused at the sudden urgency.

“We have to get back to the house now. They sent a video to Sarah's phone.” he commanded.

They immediately drove back to John’s house, and watched the video. It was truly awful, like Sarah had mentioned, they had Elizabeth tied up and were threatening her life. They offered to possibly spare her if they called Gavin Troy. Elizabeth hollered at them to not call him because they would kill him, but before she could finish the sentence the video cut out. John sighed as he sat down at the table next to Sarah and put a comforting hand on hers.

“Sir we definitely need to call her parents now. There's no way we can do this without telling them, and sounds like we will need her father to have any hope of saving her.” Nelson said, as the shock slowly wore off.

“I know Nelson, please just take the cloth sample to the lab. It’s late, I think it's for the best if I just wait until morning. I need some time to get my thoughts clear before I tell her father. Now goodnight Nelson.” John dismissed him.

Reluctantly Nelson left, calling Kate as he made his way to the lab asking her to meet him there. Early the next morning John met Charlie and Kate at the lab.

“Well it was as I suspected Chloroform. Probably used to knock her out so they wouldn’t meet any resistance or draw any attention to themselves. Though unfortunately I was unable to find any fingerprints.” Kate stated.

“Thank you Kate, well I guess I can’t keep avoiding it, time to call her father.”.

Gavin was in the middle of interrogating a prime suspect for his case when his phone started to ring. At first he was just going to ignore it, but he noticed the area code was from Midsomer, so he stepped out to answer it.

“Troy here.” Gavin answered casually.

“Hi Gavin this is John Barnaby. I’m calling with some regrettably bad news. I’d recommend you sit down before I continue.” John said.

“What happened?! Just tell me now, please.” Gavin replied, starting to sound frantic.

“Well a little over 48 hours ago your daughter went missing. All we have is a video that threatens her life, unless we got you involved, and a few witnesses.”.

Gavin almost dropped the phone in shock.

Trying his best to use a calm voice he replied, “I’ll be there as soon as possible.”.

He immediately hung up the phone and darted back into the interrogation room, motioning for his sergeant to step outside with him.

“Elizabeth has been kidnapped, I need to get to Midsomer and help them to find her. I’m putting you in charge of this case, but do not make an arrest without getting a hold of me first. Are we clear?” Gavin asked, his voice shaking.

“Yes sir! Best of luck ,I hope she will be okay.” The sergeant shouted at him as Gavin had turned and started to sprint towards his car.

Frantically he hopped into the car and started to drive. After a few moments it hit him that he should tell his wife what was happening. At the first stoplight he quickly grabbed his cell phone and dialed his wife.

“Hey honey! How’s the case going? You would not believe what happened today.” Cully answered cheerfully.

“Cully, honey, please sit down….I have some bad news.”.

There was silence for a moment before Cully replied, “Gavin, what’s happened? What’s wrong? Please don’t let it be Elizabeth.”.

Gavin could tell she was starting to cry.

“Honey, relax please, but yes unfortunately it’s Elizabeth. John just called me, apparently she has been kidnapped. I’m on my way to Midsomer right now.”.

All he could hear was his wife sobbing, he felt terrible for leaving her behind, but it was probably for the best.

“Cully, please go to your parent’s house, let them know what is going on. I may need your father’s input on this as well. I’ll call you when I arrive and am able to get more information dear.” Gavin said, in an attempt to comfort Cully.

“Oh Gavin, this is terrible! Please be careful dear, and make sure you both come out of this in one piece.” Cully sobbed.

As the call ended Gavin had become even more determined to get to Midsomer as fast as he could and find their daughter. He just hoped he wasn’t too late.


	5. Chapter 5

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gavin is in midsomer trying to figure out who has taken and Elizabeth and why

The old lady chuckled as she strolled into the building, satisfied her plan was being set in motion.

She approached the room they were holding Elizabeth in, “Any word regarding her father?” she inquired.

“Yeah apparently he’s on his way, should be here before the day is out.” Vince replied.

“Can’t believe it took them this long to call him.” Scoffed Simone.

They all froze as Elizabeth began to stir.

“Well hello miss Elizabeth. Wake up and join in our conversation would you?” cooed the old lady.

Elizabeth groaned, trying to focus, and see who was talking to her.

“Where am I? Who are you? What’s going on?” Elizabeth asked, panic starting to set in as she woke up more and realized she was tied up.

“Oh don’t you worry about where you are dear, that’s not really relevant. As to what’s going on, well essentially we are seeking revenge on your father for what he has done to us.” The old lady chuckled.

“But why take me then?” Elizabeth asked, starting to cry.

“All in due time my dear. But first, don’t you want to know who we are?” The woman replied, maliciously.

*****************  
Gavin burst through the doors of the Causton police department. He dashed down the all too familiar hallway towards the investigation department.

“What do you guys have? Anything new to tell me?” Gavin demanded, as he went into the investigation department.

“Good to see you as well Gavin. We don’t have too much new unfortunately.” John retorted.

The man sitting behind John stood up, “Well, we do know they used chloroform to knock her unconscious. We believe it was probably so they could take her without too much struggle. Also Elizabeth did tell me about a strange old woman she saw, that she didn’t recognize, who knew her name and that she was your daughter. Also a witness said he saw a couple watching her when she was at the church in Badgers Drift. Oh! Sarah also has a video that they sent her basically demanding you or else.” Nelson chimed in.

Gavin looked at the tall strange man who seemed to know more than John before he replied, “ Who are you? Plus what did you mean that there is an old woman who recognized her?”.

Actually seeing Gavin Troy in person Charlie could see how Elizabeth resembled him. They had the same brown hair and blue eyes, she was kind of tall and lanky like him, and some of Gavin’s facial expressions reminded him of the ones he had seen Elizabeth make.

“I’m Charlie Nelson sir, most everyone calls me Nelson, I’m Barnaby’s Detective Sergeant. Elizabeth told me that when she arrived at Midsomer she saw a strange old woman who told her how much she looked like you. Plus that same woman knew her name.”.

“So you’re telling me a strange woman knew my daughters name, knew she was my child, and you didn’t even attempt to look into it? Or find it slightly odd?” Gavin glared at John.

“I honestly didn’t think it was anything serious. I just figured it was someone she didn’t recognize.” John replied sheepishly.

Gavin sighed as his anger at John began to rise. He was also scared because he couldn’t think of any older woman that lived here who should know that he had a child, or even know Elizabeth’s name for that matter.

“It’s getting late, just take me back to your house so I can watch this video. I also want to know more about your witnesses and whatever else you can give me.” Gavin replied, trying not to sound too annoyed.

They headed to the Barnaby’s where they went over where all she had gone and the witness statements. Though after seeing the video of Elizabeth Gavin had to step out into the garden for a moment. He ran his fingers through his hair trying to not get emotional, but that had ripped his heart out. Gavin sat down on one of the benches in the garden trying to process everything when he remembered that he should probably call Cully. He knew he needed to update her but was hoping that she would be able to comfort him.

“Oh Gavin I was starting to worry! Well, more than I was before! What news do you have?” Cullys panic stricken voice greeted him.

“I think I’m going to need your father's input on this one. All I know is it probably has to do with one of our old cases, from what I’ve been told. They sent a video to Sarah and it was beyond awful seeing our daughter like that.” Gavin stated, trying to keep his composure for Cully’s sake, “ Have you told your parents yet?” he asked.

“No I’m not sure how to go about telling them to be honest. You know how Dad is, he’s going to want to come help you.” Cully replied.

“True, I don’t know if that’s the best idea. Mainly because they already are after me, I don’t want them to decide they want to add him into the mix.” he sighed.

Cully started to cry again, “Gavin please be careful!”.

“I’m going to try dear. I think come morning I’m going to take Sergeant Nelson with me to retrace Elizabeth’s steps, maybe re-interview a few of their suspects. I suppose I’ll go from there. Honey please go to your parent’s house, I hate the thought of you being alone during this. Plus it will be easier for me to update you and Tom.”.

“Okay fine I’ll head over here in a bit. I’ll have Dad call you in the morning. Love you!” Cully replied, hanging up the phone.

Gavin stayed outside for a bit longer before heading back in. It seemed everyone had gone to bed for the night, so he settled himself into the recliner and turned on the t.v.. Gavin pulled out his small notepad that he generally had on him and began to jot down some of his and Tom Barnaby’s cases. He figured that there were plenty of people who did not like him for putting them in jail but there weren't many that he could picture seeking revenge like this. Finally, after several hours, Gavin passed out in the recliner. He awoke unusually early after having a string of nightmares. Sighing, he headed into the kitchen to make breakfast and coffee. He found Sarah already awake in the kitchen, bouncing Betty on her hip, cooking breakfast.

“Good morning Gavin! Manage to get any sleep?” Sarah chimed.

“Unfortunately not really.” Gavin grumbled, still half asleep.

“I am so sorry! I wish I could have stopped Elizabeth from going, or been able to join her!” Sarah’s voice cracked as the cheerful facade faded.

“Please don’t feel bad Sarah. Elizabeth is truly a mix of me and her mother, but mostly her mother, with her determination. I doubt you would have been able to stop her. I just wish she would have called and told me about this strange elderly woman. Any idea why she didn’t?” Gavin inquired.

“She never really said. But I can imagine it had something to do with John not believing her. I'm sure her thought process was something along the lines of, oh John didn’t believe me why would my father? I know Charlie and I both tried to get her to call or do something about it, but to no avail. But would you like some breakfast, maybe a shower, before you go looking for Elizabeth?”.

Gavin nodded as he started to get lost in thought. They both jumped when they heard the plink of the mail flap.

“What was that? We never use that mail flap….” Sarah asked, looking at Gavin confused.

Gavin got up to investigate, he saw a letter that was addressed to him.

Sarah peeked her head around the corner, “Find anything?”.

“A note addressed to me.”, he replied, starting to open it as they headed back to the kitchen, “It reads 'Time to retrace your steps and think about your past. Here's a clue, at least we were faithful unto death!' Hmmm that’s odd maybe I should get Tom’s opinion on this.” Gavin sighed, “Actually it would probably be better if I just head to the station and look into all my old cases, see if I can find any clues before I call him.”.

“Okay I’ll let John know where you have gone whenever he finally wakes up. Good luck!” Sarah replied.

Gavin arrived at the station, finding Nelson already there with a stack of papers on his desk.

“Good Morning! I got here just a little bit ago and decided to start looking through the cases files of yours and Tom Barnaby’s. Just to see if I could find any clues.” Nelson stated.

Gavin was impressed, “It’s like you read my mind, that’s what I came here to do actually. I got a strange letter this morning saying to retrace my steps and something about faithful unto death.”.

They spent the next hour going over the cases jotting down notes when Gavin’s phone began to ring, it was Tom Barnaby.

“Morning sir.” Gavin answered.

“Troy what is going on? Cully arrived last night sobbing saying something about Elizabeth and me needing to call you.” Tom asked sternly.

“Well sir Elizabeth has been kidnapped. Not sure who yet, the only clues I have are a couple, an Elderly woman, Badger’s Drift, and something about faithful unto death.” Gavin replied.

“Okay that's it I’m coming to help you. Sounds like you’ll need all the help you can get.” John said, with determination in his voice.

“Sir, please no, it’s better if you stay there. They already want me, I don’t want them to decide they want you as well. Please for Cully’s sake stay there.”.

There was silence for a moment, he knew Tom was stubborn and that he really wanted to help, but he hoped that he would listen to him for once.

Finally Gavin heard a sigh, “Okay fine Troy, but I require as many updates as possible. Oh, before I forget Joyce told me a few weeks ago that she heard that Simone and her husband Vince were bailed from jail. So probably best to look into that to see what you can find.” Tom hung up the phone before Gavin could even ask about Cully.

Gavin turned to look at Nelson, “Well Nelson I have a different task for you. Look into who bailed Simone Hollingsworth and Vince Perry out of jail. I think it’s time for me to head to Badger’s Drift and look around.” Gavin stated.

“Will do sir! Good luck, I’ll give you a call and tell you what I’ve found.” Charlie replied.

Gavin decided it would be best to head straight for the church, seeing as that was the last place Elizabeth was seen. He spent most of the trip there trying to remember what case he and Tom had solved there, and if it posed any significance to Elizabeth being kidnapped.


	6. Chapter 6

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Slowly they are coming up with suspects but unfortunately they aren't any closer to finding Elizabeth, or are they?

“Oh cmon, I know your father had to have told you about his cases and I’m sure he mentioned us.” Simone chuckled.

  
“Please just give me some answers!” Elizabeth firmly pleaded.

She heard some laughter and finally saw a male and female face emerge from the dark.

“I recognize you two! You were at the park the day I was kidnapped! Wait...did you two kidnap me?!” Elizabeth gasped, she began to struggle against the bonds tying her to the chair.

Simone watched and started to laugh at her struggle.

“Fine, I suppose I can actually give you some sort of an answer. My name is Simone and this man next to me is Vince. Yes we are the ones who kidnapped you, but it wasn’t 100% our idea.” Simone replied.

All of a sudden they heard chuckling from outside of the room.

  
“Going to give away all our plans Simone?” the female voice asked.

  
“No, but I am beginning to become impatient. We probably need to give her father another clue, he was never the brightest person around when I met him.” Simone scoffed.

  
“Well lets move into the next phase of the plan, then we can talk about the other ways to get his attention.” the voice replied.

The old woman finally appeared into Elizabeth’s eyesight making her squirm even more against her bonds. Curiously she watched them pull out some sort of machine, normally they would just use a cloth covered in chloroform. She gasped as they put a clear mask on her face, similar to ones she had seen used in hospitals to give people air. Elizabeth tried to struggle to get it off, but to no avail as the world slowly fell dark around her.

************  
Thankfully the priest was able to help Gavin remember which mystery he had solved at the church, he also was able to give him more clues surrounding who took his daughter. But unfortunately he wasn’t any closer to figuring out who had actually taken Elizabeth, or where they were keeping her. Frustrated Gavin decided to head back to the Causton Police department to see if Nelson had any better luck.

  
“Well hope you’ve had more luck than I did. The priest was practically useless.” Gavin sighed, plopping down behind one of the desks.

He glanced over at the suspects board that Nelson was currently working on trying to see what he had come up with.

  
“Apparently some bloke named Charles Jennings is the one who picked Simone and Vince up from the jail. But the check was from an Angela Wentsworth I guess. Haven’t figured out how the two are connected yet.” Nelson responded, turning to face Gavin.

  
“Interesting, those names do sound super familiar but I can't quite figure out… oh wait, I think Angela had some sort of connection to the case surrounding the church at Badger’s Drift. Wait a moment, where’s John?” Gavin inquired, just now noticing he was missing.

  
“He popped off to check on Sarah and probably get some lunch.” Charlie replied.

  
“Well can you go get him so I can get his insight. While I wait I think I better update Tom on what I’ve found.” Gavin replied, as he pulled out his notepad with all the up to date information on it.

He dialed Tom as he watched Nelson head out to find John.

  
“Troy! About time you called me. What news do you have?” Tom answered.

  
“Well sir do either of these names ring any bells, Angela Wentworth and Charles Jennings? They supposedly worked together in the release of Simone and Vince.” Gavin asked. That was the last thing Charlie heard as he walked out towards the cafeteria in search of John.

  
“Sir Gavin is back, he’s on the phone with Tom Barnaby at the moment updating him on our findings. Though he was asking where you were.”.

  
“Nelson this just doesn’t make any sense! What would Charles Jennings and Angela Wentworth want with getting revenge on Gavin? Charles isn’t even in the system from any of their cases. She never went to jail, heck she was barely even a suspect!” John replied, clearly exasperated.

  
“Well sir how about we go upstairs and see if Gavin and Tom have come up with any new ideas.” Nelson suggested.

Huffing John nodded and stood up following Nelson back to the investigation department. They found Gavin was still sitting behind the desk tapping his fingers in annoyance glaring at the notes in front of him.

  
“Well did Tom have any new information to help us?” Nelson inquired.

  
“Well he thinks that Charles Jennings is also connected to the church at Badger’s Drift, he thinks he may have worked at the church. Angela is definitely the one who’s husband was the priest that killed himself. We found out he was the murderer and to avoid going to jail he opted to kill himself, unfortunately I was unable to stop him. Tom didn’t remember her being angry with us or blaming us for his death, so I'm not sure if she is actually part of this case. Tom said he would think about it and give me a call back.” Gavin reported.

Before anyone could respond one of the constables came into the room.

  
“Sir a letter just arrived addressed to Gavin Troy.” he reported, holding an envelope out for them to grab.

They all looked at each other curiously before Gavin got up and took the letter.

“Thank you. Any chance you happened to see who delivered it?” Gavin asked.

  
“Sorry sir I did not. They left it on the front desk sometime when we stepped off for lunch.” the man stated before walking away.

Gavin quickly opened the letter and began to read it, his brow began to furrow with confusion.

“Well what does it say?” Nelson inquired after a few minutes.

  
“ Umm well it says 'You better hope she doesn’t begin to see Death’s Shadow'.” Gavin replied, looking nervously at John.

  
“Death’s Shadow? What could that mean? Could they be threatening to kill her?” John inquired, looking confused.

  
Gavin sat down lost in thought, “Wait, I think I finally remember who Charles was! He was the one who helped them out at the church, was a bit of a twink actually. Caught him with one of our prime suspects in bed, though not sure why he would want revenge on me, I didn’t do anything to him. But, I do think Death’s Shadow may be referring to that case possibly.” Gavin said excitedly.

  
“Well should we take the note down to forensics and see if possibly they can find any fingerprints on it besides our own?” Nelson suggested.

They all agreed and Nelson headed down to forensics to work on that while Gavin and John spent the rest of the day putting their heads together, trying to figure out where they could be keeping Elizabeth at and what that note could possibly have meant.

  
“What I don’t get is why haven’t they actually sent out a ransom note or something, why these stupid hidden message notes? They sent a video threatening her life before you got here, now that you are here why haven’t they demanded anything else?” John wondered out loud.

  
“She’s gotta be in Badger’s Drift. I think I remember where in Badger’s drift, besides the church, that the rest of that case took place. Perhaps we should look around there?” Gavin asked.

  
“Sounds like a plan. I’ll go get Nelson and Kate, I’m sure we could use Kate’s forensic insight.” John replied.

  
“Alright well I’m going to call Cully and update her and probably Tom as well.” Gavin replied, pulling his phone out.

John nodded and headed downstairs to grab Nelson and Kate. Tom had agreed that they should check out around Badger’s drift but didn’t want Gavin to tell Cully until they knew more, he didn’t want to raise her hopes too much. After the call ended Gavin went to meet John and the crew so they could head to Badger’s drift before dark. Charlie could tell Gavin was becoming more frustrated as he tried to remember the actual locations of the case the note was referring to, besides the church. Kate was looking around intently trying to see if she could find any sort of clue. Finally at around dusk they decided to call it quits and head back to their vehicles.

  
“Maybe tomorrow you could try to search with some search dogs?” Kate suggested.

  
“Mmm yeah that's actually not a bad idea. I will grab one of her clothing items or something so they have her scent.” John agreed.

Gavin ran his fingers through the tangled mess that his hair had become, trying to think of anything that he could be missing. None of the suspects added up, he couldn’t really picture any of them stalking him to figure out he had a child or even kidnapping his child for that matter. Once they returned to the Barnaby’s they ate a quick dinner and headed for bed. Gavin barely slept again, thanks to more nightmares and how worried he was for Elizabeth’s safety. Thankfully John woke up early as well so they could resume their search. They searched around all morning with the search dogs, with no real luck. When they paused for a quick lunch break Gavin decided to step off on his own. John leaned up against a tree frustrated that they hadn’t found anything yet or even found a suspect, and they hadn’t found anyone new to interview.

  
Charlie finally decided to wander over towards where Gavin was sitting, “You doing okay sir?” he asked.

  
“No, unfortunately. I’m worried for Elizabeth’s safety, and I’m beyond frustrated that we are nowhere closer to finding her. I blame myself for all of this, and I just don’t believe that any of the possible suspects that we have could be the ones to kidnap her. First off I know Angela didn’t hate me, Charles heck I didn’t do anything to him, and Simone and Vince deserved it and they knew it so why be mad at me? Plus they were in jail so there is no way they could have known I had a child! ” Gavin vented.

  
“Hey if we are placing blame then it is also my fault. I should have taken her worry more seriously, maybe tried to look into that old woman Elizabeth said she saw at the station. I also wish I would have found a way to contact you sooner than we did. There is so much more I could have done and wish I had done.” Nelson replied.

Gavin smiled up at Charlie, grateful he was trying to help him feel better. Charlie nodded at Gavin and headed back over towards John a bit uncertain why Gavin was dismissing all of their current possible leads on suspects. As the day came to an end everyone was disappointed that they once again hadn’t found any clues. The next day John and Charlie decided it would be best to try checking out a different area of Badger’s drift. Tom had reminded them about Badger’s drift primary school but they couldn’t remember the exact location and none of the locals seemed to totally recall it’s location either. But, just before dusk, they stumbled upon a beaten up old greenhouse with smashed windows looking like it hadn’t been used in centuries.

  
“Nelson come here, quickly.” John said in hushed tones, motioning for Nelson to come closer to him.

  
“What’s the problem sir? Did you see something?” Nelson asked quietly, looking around him concerned.

  
“Head into the greenhouse would you? I'm certain I saw movement coming from inside there.” John replied hushed, giving Nelson a push towards the greenhouse.

John walked over to Gavin and told him what Nelson was doing and they both agreed to block any possible escape routes. They heard a bit of a scuffle happening inside and after just a few moments Nelson came out with a man, who was struggling against the handcuffs Nelson had just put on him, trying to get free.

  
“Found him skulking around inside. Put up a heck of a fight.” Nelson stated, panting a bit from the struggle.

They put the man in the back of the police car and began the journey back to the station to interview him. Gavin couldn’t quite place how he knew the man, but knew he looked beyond familiar. He just hoped this man would be able to finally give them the answer’s they needed to finally find Elizabeth.


	7. Chapter 7

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to interview the strange man they found at the greenhouse! Will they get the answers they need to finally find Elizabeth?

“Ma’am they got Charles!” Vince shouted, running into the room.

“More like the idiot got himself captured by being in the wrong place at the wrong time.” Simone scoffed, sauntering into the room behind Vince.

Elizabeth was semi conscious and fought to stay that way so that she could listen in.

“They got closer than ever to finding out where we are though! Now with him in custody they are sure to find us sooner rather than later.” Vince replied nervously.

The old lady sighed and rolled her eyes, “We WANT them to find us. Do you think we are holding Elizabeth here just for laughs?” she asked, glaring at Vince.

“You should be nervous if my father is close to finding me.” Elizabeth spat at them.

The old lady stood up from behind the desk she had been sitting behind and grinned maliciously at Elizabeth.

“Oh honey you should be more worried about yourself than you are about us. Don’t worry dear, I’m not actually afraid of your father.” she chuckled as Elizabeth slowly passed back out.

*********************

It was late when they finally returned to the station. Everyone was itching to interview this strange man but agreed it would probably be best to wait until morning. So the next morning they gathered together to discuss a plan of action. John stared at the suspect board trying to think of the best angle to go about interviewing this man.

“Well Gavin, I feel it would work more in our favor if Nelson and I lead this interrogation.” John stated, "We need to be careful since this man is our only lead.".

“Yeah I suppose you’re right. Maybe we could try like a good cop bad cop type routine. You guys start it off as being on his side and if he doesn’t really cooperate then I can step in and try the bad cop type routine. Or does that seem cheesy?” Gavin replied.

“Yeah I think that could work out. I want to make sure we figure out who he is and what his connection is. I have a hunch it is Charles Jennings since you seem to recognize him. But let's head into the interrogation room and get this going.” John said, turning and heading for the door.

They reached the interrogation room and John looked over at Nelson to make sure he was ready to put the plan into motion. Nelson quickly nodded and opened the door for his superiors. They found the man was leaning back in his chair looking rather smug. John noted that the man was tall and thin and had short black hair, he noticed there weren't too many other prominent features about him though.

“Hello I’m Detective John Barnaby and this is Sergeant Nelson. Behind us is Detective Troy, he will be listening in and possibly ask a few questions. Though may I ask what your name is?” John asked, as he and Nelson sat down at the table across from him.

“Shouldn’t you already know what my name is?” The man replied smugly, his eyes watching Gavin lean against the wall by the door.

“Well how about you refresh my memory then.” John suggested.

The man’s smile turned a bit malicious causing Gavin to start to tap his foot nervously.

“Well the name is Charles Jennings. Happen to ring any bells there Troy?” Charles chuckled, watching Gavin’s body tense up.

“What do you mean by ‘happen to ring any bells there Troy’?” Nelson asked curiously.

“What are you asking me for? Why not ask the man himself?” Charles retorted.

“Seriously none of this has anything to do with Elizabeth! Let’s focus on why we brought him in eh?” Gavin snapped, moving so that he was hovering behind Nelson and Barnaby.

Sensing Gavin’s building anger behind him John decided to keep moving forward with the investigation.

“He’s quite right actually. I’ll ask him about that later, how does that sound Charles? Now what can you tell me about this woman.” John asked as he slid him a picture of Elizabeth he had gotten from Gavin earlier.

“Yeah she looks familiar. Though she’s not my type if that’s what you’re asking.” Charles replied.

He had sat up a bit more and didn’t have quite as smug of a look on his face since Gavin had snapped.

“Yeah she has the wrong body parts for you.” Gavin muttered under his breath.

“I’m not showing you this picture because I think she could be your type, but because I believe you helped aid in her kidnapping.” John said sternly, ignoring Gavins retort.

He watched Charles stiffen a bit in his chair with a concerned look rush across his face.

“What makes you think that I was the one who kidnapped her?” Charles replied, trying to keep his cool.

“We didn’t say you were the one who kidnapped her per se but more so that you helped whoever did.” Nelson retorted.

Charles began to squirm in his chair a bit, clearly becoming more nervous.

“A little birdie told us that you and an Angela Wentsworth had a hand in releasing some people from prison. How about you tell me about that instead?” John hopped in hoping to keep Charles focused.

“No idea what you’re talking about.” Charles replied.

“Well you better find that idea. We have proof and witnesses who say you do have that idea.” Gavin shouted, slamming one of his fists down on the table.

John glared up at Gavin, starting to reconsider the good cop/ bad cop method seeing as Charles was getting more nervous.

“You guys make it seem like this is what I wanted to do! Like I’m the evil mastermind!” Charles stammered.

He had seen Gavin’s anger before, but not quite like this, and he didn’t want to push his luck.

“Okay so can you confirm that it is Angela at least? We are just looking to help the woman in the photograph.” Nelson pushed.  
They all watched as Charles nervously started to tap his food and play with his shirt. He was obviously trying to decide what to tell them. Gavin huffed and resumed his pacing behind John and Nelson, trying to calm himself down some.

“It was her idea………..she had changed……..she wanted revenge! She was after Cully at first! But then she heard Cully was pregnant…..she was just going to leave it all be…..but……” Charles stammered.

Nelson looked over at John curiously wondering where all this was heading. Gavin had stopped pacing and stood frozen waiting for Charles to continue.

“Well go on. But what?” John finally said calmly.

Charles shook his head no as his eyes began to grow wide.

“Well will you at least confirm this ‘her’ you keep referring to is Angela?” Nelson inquired again.

“I….I can’t. If she found out…..I just….NO.” Charles stammered.

“Seriously?!” Gavin roared, pushing John and Nelson out of his way, “My daughter's life is in danger and this crap is all you’re going to give me?! Every second I waste in here with you is a second that I could have been one step closer to finding Elizabeth! Can't you at least confirm for us that it is Angela?”.

“Alright perhaps we ought to take a quick break, let everyone calm down some. Nelson can you take Gavin back to our office while I wrap up here?” John quickly intervened.  
Nelson quickly stood up and put a hand on Gavin’s arm and gently ushered him towards the door. After they left John smiled back at Charles.

“I apologize for his rage but I ask you to take some time to collect your thoughts and be ready to answer my questions next time we bring you in here.” John stated, motioning to the officer in the room to take Jennings back to his cell.

Meanwhile back in their office after a bit Nelson finally decided to break the silence, “Sir are you doing okay?” he asked Gavin.

After a few moments Gavin let out a sigh and responded, “They’ve been apparently following me for years wanting this revenge. Honestly I fear for what they have in store for Elizabeth because of their rage. We need to do something and soon to find her.”.

“Well how about you give Tom a call? He may be able to give us some different insight?” Nelson suggested.

“Yeah you're right that would be a good idea.” Gavin replied, pulling out his phone to dial Tom.

Tom was also shocked and uncertain about what they had learned. He was also becoming more annoyed seeing as it had been almost a week since Elizabeth had been kidnapped, and they were nowhere near being closer to finding her. John managed to step in at the last second and discourage Tom from coming to help them, much to Tom's dismay. Later that night, after everyone was asleep, Gavin sat at the Barnaby’s dining room table trying to find some sort of clue that could possibly point him in the right direction of where his daughter was being held. Finally, just before day break, Gavin jolted awake from having passed out uncomfortably at the table. He had been having a dream that he was sure had just given him the missing piece of the puzzle that he needed. Excitedly he ran upstairs and woke John up, eager to get back to the station and look up contact information regarding Ian Eastman.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So sorry while writing this I realized Charles Jennings actually gets murdered in the show. So this is an alternate universe where he didn't actually get murdered.


	8. Chapter 8

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> As they get closer to figuring out where Elizabeth is they run into a bump in the road.

The old woman tapped her fingers on the desk, clearly annoyed.

“Ma’am what's wrong?” Vince nervously asked.

“Well, it’s been a bloody week and they are nowhere near being any closer to finding her! I think we should send them another video….perhaps that will give them a bit more incentive to find her quickly.” she huffed.

Well what exactly did you have in mind?” Simone asked.

They all looked over at Elizabeth before the old woman started to chuckle.

“Something really cruel that will give Gavin Troy all the incentive he needs. Simone, go get the supplies we need.”

*****************************

Nelson approached the investigation department, curious as to why his superiors were there so much earlier than him.

“Thank you so much, this has been very helpful!” Nelson heard Gavin say, he walked into the room and saw Gavin put his phone back on the desk.

“Ah, morning Nelson!” John said, more cheerfully than normal.

“Morning, sir. You guys are here awful early. Guessing the pair of you found something?” Nelson responded.

“Well, I remembered back when I first met Charles and his lover, the one he had at that time, Ian Eastman. Figured we should give him a call and see if he and Charles had been in touch at all recently.” Gavin replied.

“Oh sweet! So I’m guessing he had some information that will help us out?”.

“Well for starters it is for sure Angela. But from what I’ve gathered, Charles has been feeling quite uncertain about the whole thing. He said Charles told him once they finally kidnapped Elizabeth that he became more determined for her to be saved. So I’d assume he was the one that has been sending us the clues.” John replied.

“I’m thinking we need to have another sit down with Charles. It would probably be better if I lead this time, so I can be the one to tell him that we have been in contact with Ian. Hopefully that will get him to talk.” Gavin said.

Before anyone could respond Sarah ran into the room sobbing.

“Sarah, what’s wrong?” John asked, jumping up from his chair, rushing over to her.

“John, they sent me another video! This one is so terrible, you guys need to find her now!” Sarah sobbed.

Charlie glanced over at Gavin, and saw the concerned look on his face.

“Well may we see it Sarah?” he asked.

Sarah nodded and handed John the phone, but stepped out into the hallway not wanting to hear or see the video again. This time the video was focused on Elizabeth, clearly showing her face covered in bruises. They were making promises that if she wasn’t found in roughly 48 hours, they would do worse than bruises to her.

After a few moments of silence Gavin finally spoke, “Well, I guess we better get moving. Let’s go talk to Charles again. Perhaps not only mentioning Ian, but also showing him this video will convince him to tell us what we need to know.”.

Charlie and John looked at each other, both mildly surprised to see Gavin seeming so calm after viewing that video.

“Yes, I agree let’s get moving. I already made sure an officer moved Charles to the interrogation room earlier. No time to waste! Nelson please make sure Sarah is okay before you join us.” John responded, heading for the door.

“Can do sir. I’ll be along shortly.” Nelson stated, heading off to find Sarah.

Gavin and John walked into the interrogation room to find Charles sitting still, with his head down, not even acknowledging that they had walked in.

"Good morning, Charles! Are you ready to finish answering our questions today?” John asked as he and Gavin sat down.  
Charles nodded solemnly, finally looking up at them.

“Can you please tell us who is responsible for kidnapping Elizabeth then?” Gavin asked.

“It was Angela who came up with the plan.” Charles responded.

“That's a good start. Now please tell us where she is being held.” John retorted.

“Well if Gavin would use his head, I left you guys a clue of where she is at.” Charles replied.

“Wait, exactly what was the clue you gave me?” Gavin asked skeptically.

“The note that said you better hope she doesn’t see Death’s shadow. C’mon, I know you must remember that case.” Charles insisted.

“So you were the one who sent those notes? Hmm, yes I think I do remember that case. But, just so you are aware, I spoke to Ian Eastman this morning.” Gavin responded.

He watched Charles perk up at the mention of Ian.

“He mentioned you’ve been leery of Angela’s whole plan . But you weren’t sure how to stop her. Is this true?” John asked.  
At that moment Nelson quietly entered the room.

“Yeah, it is true. I don’t really have the desire for revenge. She made quite a compelling case for me to join, and help her out with all of this. But, once she took Elizabeth I just couldn’t stand to see her suffering.” Charles sighed.

“Please, you have to help us find her then. We have received a video threatening her life if we don’t find her within the next 48 hours.” Nelson pleaded.

Charles looked at him clearly shocked before responding, “What do you mean by this video? She promised she wouldn’t do anything like that! Please show me this video!” he demanded.

John pulled out Sarah’s phone and set it on the table for Charles to see before playing the video. Charles looked shocked at Elizabeth’s appearance, and was almost pale by the time the video ended.

He sat there for a few moments before looking up at them, and saying, “It’s a trap. It has to be. But….for her safety I’ll help you out. All I ask is that you be careful, please.”.  
Out of nowhere, Gavin’s phone started to ring causing everyone to jump. Quickly, he pulled out his phone and glanced at the number before sighing.

“Sorry, I do have to step out real quick and take this.” He said.  
Amongst his worry for Elizabeth, Gavin had forgotten he had been in the middle of a case of his own.

“What is it?” he answered, his voice a bit more irritated than intended.

“It’s been a week, and our superiors want to know why the case isn’t closed, especially since we had been so close to closing it when you left.”.

“Well tell them the truth if you haven’t already! I’m super close to finding Elizabeth, but I doubt I’ll be back any time soon. I mean I guess if we do find her in the next 24 hours I’ll try to come wrap up the investigation, but you’d be better off having one of them take over.”.

“Yes sir. I’ll update them and let you know what they decide. Best of luck to you then.” Gavin hung up the phone, and went back into the investigation room.

“Alright, remember Badger’s Drift Primary school? That was the case that hint was referring to. That’s where she is at, or well that's where she was at last time I was there.” Charles finally confessed as Gavin walked back in.

“So we were close the day that we found you, weren’t we?” John asked.  
Charles nodded in response.

“Well, let’s go make a plan of action. Gavin, would you please call Tom and update him, and see if he also has any suggestions. Thank you for your time Charles.” John said.

Gavin nodded and dialed Tom as they headed back towards the investigation department.

“Troy! You better have some news for me this time.” Tom answered.

“Well sir, they sent us another video. This time threatening her life if we didn’t find her within the next 48 hours. We showed it to Charles, and he claims her kidnappers should be holding her at the Badger's Drift primary school. We are currently trying to come up with a good plan to go to the school, and hopefully save her.” Gavin replied.

“Wow, 48 hours eh? This is getting serious, and I think it’s time I came up there. You’ll need the support, Troy, and Cully is going stir crazy. I’m going to gather up the girls, and we should hopefully be there by tomorrow.” Tom stated gravely.

“I appreciate it, sir. We will look to see you guys tomorrow then.” Gavin replied a moment before Tom hung up the phone.  
He felt a bit more confident knowing Tom and Cully would be here to help support him if things were to go wrong.

“Alright, any ideas?” Gavin asked.

“Well, if we were close when we were at the greenhouse, I would like to start there. If it’s indeed a trap, I want plenty of back up to help us. Nelson, I’d like you to go around back, and see if there is a back entrance for you to get in through.” John said.

“Charlie I would like your main focus to be on Elizabeth. No matter what they say or do to me or John, please make your main concern be about getting Elizabeth to safety.” Gavin said.

“I can do that sir.” Nelson responded

.

“Alright, so we distract them, and Nelson you come in the back way so you can make sure you find Elizabeth. Once she is safe, you can come back in to help us with the arrests. Shall we get going?” John replied.  
They grabbed every free officer they could, and headed back to the woods. Once they approached the greenhouse, Gavin remembered the way to the school house. He became more nervous as they got closer to the school, hoping Elizabeth was safe, and that they would be able to save her. Unfortunately, as they came closer to the school, they noticed the front door was wide open. John and Gavin stopped, looking at each other nervously. Slowly, they walked in the door to find the school house empty. Nelson came in the back, and confirmed the building was indeed empty.

“Let's get this place taped off, and have forensics dust the place for fingerprints, see if they can find any clues to help us.” John stated.  
Nelson nodded and went outside to relay the message to the officers.

“This place looks like the place from the videos. That chair just thrown off to the side, with the rope on the floor next to it, seems awfully suspicious as well. I’m going to say they panicked and moved her. Either that or they don’t want to make it too easy on us.” Gavin stated.

“Very true. Either way, though I’m not giving up we will find her today one way or another.” John replied.  
They both continued to look for clues while they waited on forensics to arrive. Nelson decided to stay outside to look for clues, hoping to find anything, when all of a sudden something shiny caught his eye. He quickly put on a glove, and picked it up. Almost immediately, he recognized what it was, and ran in to show Gavin and John.


	9. Chapter 9

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well Elizabeth isn't at the school house. Where else could she be at? Are there any clues that could lead them to her? We are getting closer to the showdown!

Elizabeth groaned as she slowly started to wake up. She was confused, seeing as this was the most conscious she had been in such a long time. Very faintly Elizabeth could hear voices, it sounded like they were making threats, she assumed they must be making another video to send to her father. After a few moments the voices stopped, and shortly after she felt hands on her shoulders and someone began to gently shake her.

“Wake up my dear! It’s time to go!” The female voice cooed.

Struggling with how foggy her brain was, and how nauseous her stomach was beginning to feel, Elizabeth struggled to reply, “What do you mean by time to go?”.

“Well, now that your father knows you are here it’s time to move you to a different location. Don’t worry dear, it will all become clear in time. Vince! Get her out of this chair now! Take her outside and just tie her against a tree or something while we finish up in here.” the old lady replied.  
Elizabeth felt what she assumed was Vince untie her feet and slowly lift her up so that the bonds tying her hands together didn’t get caught on the back of the chair. With his guidance, Elizabeth managed to stumble outside. Once she was secured to a nearby tree, she watched as Vince walked back inside what appeared to be an old schoolhouse. Elizabeth began to wonder if there was any way that she could leave her father a clue, something to let him know she had been here at the very least. After a few moments an idea finally popped into her head, quickly Elizabeth struggled to get a hold of the necklace her father had given her. She figured it must have been clearly seen on the video they just sent to her father, so if they found it they'd realize she had been moved. Finally, after a few minutes of struggling, she was able to get a hold of it and quickly broke the necklace off, watching as it fell to the ground.

*************

“I found something!” Nelson shouted as he ran into the schoolhouse.

“What is it?” Gavin inquired.  
Nelson quickly handed him the necklace he had just found outside. Gavin looked at it for a minute before he gasped as he realized who it belonged to.

“This was Elizabeth's! I just gave it to her for her birthday a few months ago.” Gavin said.

“It’s gotta be proof she was at least here then! I recall seeing it on her in that last video they just sent us.” Nelson replied.

“True, but that doesn’t get us any closer to knowing where she is now. I want you to give the necklace to Kate though, have her check to see if there are any fingerprints on it other than Elizabeth’s. Also, if you found that out back, I suggest we go out and look to see if we can find any tracks that may suggest what way they went.” John stated.  
John and Gavin went outside to begin searching for tracks while they waited for Nelson to go update Kate on the necklace.

“Alright Nelson, so where did you say you found the necklace?” Gavin asked as Nelson walked over to them.

“Right over here sir, under this tree.” Nelson said, walking over to the tree.  
They searched the area trying to find any specific set of tracks. After a bit, they found what appeared to be tire tracks not too far from where Nelson had found Elizabeth’s necklace. Nelson and Gavin attempted to follow the tire tracks while John ran in to grab Kate to examine the tracks.

“Is there anyway that you would be able to tell what kind of vehicle these tracks belong to?” Nelson heard John ask Kate, as he and Gavin made their way back towards the school house.

“Not with the short time frame that you currently have. I can attempt to if you’d like me to though, but I feel it wouldn’t be of much help at the moment.” Kate responded.

“No, you’re probably right Kate, it would probably be best for you to go analyze what we’ve gathered so far. We are also probably better off heading back to the station as well, and putting our heads together to figure out where Elizabeth could be at now.” John replied.

John, Gavin, and Charlie all got into a police cruiser and made their way back to the police station. On the way there, Gavin’s heart began to sink as the realization of where his daughter was most likely being held at slowly hit him. As they walked back into the investigation department Gavin stayed by the door.

“Okay, she’s not at the school, so Gavin would you have any idea where they could have possibly taken her?” Nelson asked.

“I’m certain she’s at the church in Badger’s Drift.” Gavin replied.

“What makes you so certain?” John inquired.

“Because that’s where Angela Wentworth’s husband killed himself, he was the pastor at that church. He was the one who committed the murders that were connected with the schoolhouse, it only makes sense that’s where they would take her next.” Gavin stated.

Nelson nodded, “I have to agree that seems like a logical move. Shall we head to the church then?”.

“Well, I would like to wait and see what Kate finds out first, but since time is of the essence, I would like to make sure we have a decent plan before moving forward. Perhaps, we should try something like we were going to do at the schoolhouse.” John suggested.

“But sir, churches don’t often have back entrances, I wouldn’t really be able to sneak in that way.” Nelson replied.

“But they usually do have side entrances, regardless Nelson, the main goal is to save Elizabeth even if you have to find a way to sneak in the front entrance. Is that understood?” John asked.

Nelson nodded but before he could reply Kate appeared at the door next to Gavin.

“So, I am able to confirm that Elizabeth’s fingerprints are the only ones on the necklace. Also all signs are pointing to her having been in the schoolhouse as well.” Kate stated.

“Good work Kate, thank you.” John replied.

Kate nodded and headed back towards her lab.

“Well at least we know that we were close to finding her then. Alright, I will try for any side entrances, but if they are locked I will try to sneak in the front.” Nelson stated.  
They quickly gathered up all the officers again and went to make their way to the church.

“We should park a little ways away from the church, so hopefully they won’t see us coming and happen to panic and leave.” Gavin said.

“I agree. I already told the officers to keep their distance, I want Angela and company to think it is just us alone.” John replied.  
They parked in the middle of town, but before heading to the church Gavin and John made sure to have officers posted all around the church in case anyone tried to make a run for it.

*********

“I locked the priest in the cupboard over there so he shouldn't be a bother.” Simone told Angela.

“Good, I had Vince take Elizabeth up the tower over there so Gavin has a good view, maybe he will get a flash back to how he killed my husband. I want you to guard the door to the tower so they cannot simply run up and try to save her.” Angela replied.  
Simone grinned and walked over to the door leading to the tower, while Angela sat down at one of the pews waiting on Gavin’s arrival.

**********

They slowly approached the church, Gavin was becoming more nervous hoping that Elizabeth was okay. Nelson hid in a nearby bush hoping not to be seen while he waited for John and Gavin to enter the church.

“Welcome Gavin Troy!” they heard a male voice shout.  
Confused Gavin and John looked around trying to find where the voice had come from.

“Up here you idiots.” They heard the voice shout.

Gavin looked up to the tower, where to his horror, he saw Vince holding Elizabeth dangerously close to the edge, he could faintly make out some muffled screaming coming from Elizabeth.

“Angela wanted me to ask if this happens to look familiar to you. I believe she has something she wishes to discuss with you, if you’d like to head in the church.” Vince shouted to them, slowly pulling Elizabeth back away from the edge some.  
Nelson quickly snuck out of his hiding spot and began to search for an alternate entrance as John and Gavin headed towards the front doors.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If you've read this far thank you for reading! I'm still open to suggestions on how to better my chapters and feedback. Hope you are enjoying!


	10. Chapter 10

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Well its finally time for them to save Elizabeth! Will they be successful? If you read this chapter when I first posted it I recommend going back in and re reading it I have made some adjustments!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This chapter was terrifying for me so I hope it is enjoyed! Feedback is welcome let me know what you think of not only this chapter but the story itself! :)

Gavin quickly opened the large church doors as he and John rushed in. Once they were in they saw Angela sitting at one of the pews, not even taking notice that they had entered the church.

“So, are you here to confess your sins gentlemen?” Angela casually asked.

“Only sins we are concerned with are yours.” Gavin retorted.  
Angela chuckled as she finally stood up, and turned to face them.

“The man outside, Vince, mentioned that you wanted to discuss some terms involving Elizabeth?” John interjected.

“You know, I was almost shocked by just how much your daughter looks like you Gavin. She has the same blue eyes and brown hair as you, and getting another look at you, I’m pretty sure her face is almost identical to yours. I am curious about whose personality she tends to take after more yours, or your wifes.” Angela cooed at Gavin, ignoring John's question.

“I’ve been reliably informed by her grandfather that she takes after me in that area as well. Now what I’d really like to know is why have you taken her?” Gavin replied.

**********************  
Nelson snuck around to the side of the church where he found a door that was unfortunately locked. Quickly he made his way around the back, hoping that he would be able to find another entrance. Nelson spotted a vehicle and ran towards it, assuming that it must be the same vehicle in which they had brought Elizabeth here in. After searching and finding nothing of use in the car he quickly made his way back towards the church where, as luck would have it, he found another door that was unlocked. Nelson quietly entered the church, and quickly took note of where he was and where his superiors were at. Just off to the side he could see Gavin and John talking to who he presumed was Angela, whose back was thankfully turned towards him. Just on the opposite end of the church Nelson noted that there was a woman standing in front of a door that he assumed went up to the tower that Elizabeth was being held at. Nelson quickly tried to come up with a plan of action as he began to proceed forward.

************************  
“I do have to wonder where that little sergeant of yours is lurking though.” Angela chuckled.

“Oh that would be Nelson, and he is at the station still trying to assess all the clues that you left us.” John replied as he watched Nelson attempting to sneak across the church without drawing attention to himself.

“So you never answered me, why have you done this?” Gavin inquired, trying to keep Angela distracted.

“I’m sure you already know the answer to that darling. But, it was mainly because I needed you to understand how I felt.” Angela replied.

‘How you felt? Would you care to elaborate?” John replied, slowly shifting where he was standing so as to try to keep Angela’s back towards Nelson.

***************************  
As Nelson slowly got closer to where Simone was standing he began to consider his best options to subdue her, but not draw too much attention to himself. He could hear John in the background keeping Angela distracted, but had heard her ask them where he was. Nelson was beginning to suspect that Angela knew that he was here trying to save Elizabeth. Unfortunately for Nelson, Simone spotted him before he could find a way to subdue her.

“Ma’am I found the sergeant! He’s over here, probably hoping to get to the girl.” Simone shouted.

Angela turned around, “Oh I should have guessed. Are you trying to be a hero boy? Do you really think that you will be able to save her?” Angela retorted.

“I don’t think I’ll be able to save her, I know I will be able to. Just let me go up to where Vince is holding her and I can prove it. Plus, I’m sure none of you really want to go to jail, especially not with a murder charge.” Nelson responded.

“We can’t have it being too easy for you though, now can we?” Simone scoffed.

“Actually, on second thought dear, let him go up! Let him try to be the hero so when he fails our dear Gavin will blame him for killing his daughter instead of us.” Angela responded.  
Simone reluctantly stepped to the side and Nelson quickly made his way towards the door. Just as his hand landed on the door knob he felt Simone shove him as hard as she could causing him to lose his balance and fall to the floor.

"I told you I can't have it being too easy for you." Simone cackled.

Nelson glared up at Simone as he slowly got up and made his way towards the door again. Out of the corner of his eye he saw Simone moving towards him again, he grabbed her by the arm and pushed her to the ground. Nelson grabbed a pair of handcuffs from his jacket and handcuffed Simone to a nearby table so she was unable to follow him up the steps. Nelson glanced over towards Barnaby and Gavin before throwing the tower door open and bolting up the steps. John watched Nelson run up the steps before he returned his attention back to Angela.

“I wouldn’t blame him no matter what you think!” Gavin snapped, anxiously looking towards the tower door hoping that Nelson would be successful.

“But he is the one who is up there, so why not blame him when he is unable to stop Vince from pushing Elizabeth off the tower? Why not blame him for not being smarter and getting to her sooner?” Angela inquired.

“Because none of that would be Nelson’s fault. I believe, if anything, that Gavin would blame me before he blamed Nelson.” John replied.

“In truth, I’d blame myself before I’d blame either John or Charlie. But the real blame would always be towards you for doing this to her to begin with!” Gavin snapped.  
Angela began to laugh at Gavin’s anger when, out of nowhere, they saw Vince run down the steps and make his way towards the front doors. Gavin turned and ran after him, thankfully though one of the officers who had been standing outside managed to apprehend him first.

“Someone get the paramedics here fast!” Gavin heard Nelson shout from the top of the tower.

“Give the slimeball to me and go get the paramedics.” Gavin barked at the officer.  
The officer shoved Vince towards Gavin and ran off to find the paramedics. Gavin quickly handcuffed Vince and put him in the back of the nearest police car, and made his way back to the church.

“Angela and Simone, you are both under arrest anything you say can and will be held against you in the court of law.” Gavin heard John say as he saw him put handcuffs on Angela.

The paramedics rushed in and looked at them both curiously, “Where is it that we are needed?” they asked.

“Up those stairs over there. That is where you will find Sergeant Nelson with the victim.” John said.  
Gavin walked over to where Simone was handcuffed to the table, he removed the cuff from the table and put it on Simone’s other wrist. Gavin and John then proceeded to lead Angela and Simone to police cars and instructed the officers to take them, and Vince, back to the station. Gavin turned back towards the church where he saw Elizabeth on a stretcher being rushed towards the ambulance, and Nelson making his way over to them.

“Well Nelson what happened?” John inquired.

“The bloke was scared out of his mind. He just kept threatening to throw Elizabeth off the tower when out of nowhere he sorta pushed her away from him and just made a run for it. He probably knew I’d run to her before I’d chase after him.” Nelson replied.

“What about Elizabeth? Is she okay? What did the paramedics say?” Gavin asked frantically.

“Well, she was knocked unconscious when he pushed her. The paramedics said she was fine from that, but they did struggle to find her heartbeat. They said it was very faint when they did find it. They’re unsure if she will make it or not.” Nelson replied solemnly.

Gavin was silent for a moment trying to fight back the sudden rush of emotions that had hit him.

Finally he responded, “Can one of you take me to the hospital please? Also if one of you could please call and tell either Cully or Tom for me, I’d appreciate it. Just tell them to meet me at the hospital.”

John nodded and dialed Tom as they made their way towards the car, “Hello John, we just arrived at the hotel. What news do you have for me?” Tom answered.

“Well, we managed to take them down and they are all currently in custody. But for Elizabeth, she is not doing well at all. The paramedics are uncertain if she will survive or not. Gavin has asked for you to meet him at the hospital.” John stated.

Tom was silent for a moment before he replied, “Thank you, we will be there as soon as we can.”

  
Shortly after Tom hung up the phone John glanced over at Nelson, “Wait a minute I never saw the priest. Do you think they could have done something to him?” he inquired.

“It’s possible, though I do believe when I first entered the church that I heard some muffled yelling from a closet nearby so I can check there if you’d like.” Nelson responded.

“Sounds like a plan Nelson. Search the church with a few officers and if he isn’t there spread out into Badger’s drift. If you do find him, ask him to stop by the station tomorrow morning for questioning. Also, Nelson, would you mind stopping and updating Sarah on everything that’s happening?” John replied.

“Can do sir. Should I bring her to the hospital if she asks?” Nelson asked.

“I wouldn’t advise trying to tell her no, especially not to something like that. Good luck Nelson.” John replied as he and Gavin got in the car and drove to the hospital.

“Right men, I need you to search the church for our missing priest. If he is nowhere in the church you are to check all throughout Badger’s drift. Once found make sure he is okay and notify him to come by the station tomorrow morning for questioning.” Nelson shouted at the officers.  
Nelson directed the officers towards the area where he had heard the muffled yelling. Though the priest was slightly shaken, he was found quickly, and unharmed. With the priest safe, Nelson made his way to the Barnaby’s to update Sarah on the day's events.


	11. Chapter 11

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Time to find out if Elizabeth is okay from the encounter at the church!

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Okay I'm sorry it took so long to write this chapter it's been hectic with the holiday's I've been so drained after work and having no desire to write. So Thank you for your patience! Feedback is always welcome! I hope this chapter was worth the wait!

Elizabeth groaned as she slowly began to wake up and felt a wave of queasiness hit her stomach. Shortly after that had passed Elizabeth tried to remember what had happened to her and how she had ended up in this hospital bed. The last solid memory that she could remember was seeing Charlie trying to save her. Since then she had vague memories of possibly hearing her parents voices, but even then she was certain it had probably just been a doctor or a nurse.

Elizabeth heard the door open and a female voice say, “Ah good you’re finally awake. Take it slow dear you’ve had a rough week.”

“Who are you? How’d I get here? What happened to me?” Elizabeth asked.

“I am your nurse this afternoon and you are at the Causton local hospital. In truth, you’ve had a slight brush with death but I’ll let the doctor explain that to you more in depth. Are you thirsty? Or perhaps would you like to try eating some food?” The nurse responded.

“I am a bit thirsty, but my stomach has been feeling awful queasy so I’m not sure if I want to try food just yet. Do you know where my family is and why they aren’t here?” Elizabeth inquired.

“I’m uncertain where your family is at, but I’ll be right back with your water though. The doctor should be in at some point this afternoon to talk with you.”  
Elizabeth anxiously waited the rest of the morning for the doctor to come in and give her answers to all of her questions. Finally, shortly after noon, the doctor finally came into her room. He told her that the amount of drugs that had been in her system from being kept unconscious had been doing considerable damage to her body. Elizabeth gathered that she was indeed lucky to be alive. The doctor suggested she try to eat, but shortly after eating her body rejected it. As soon as Elizabeth’s stomach started to feel better she decided to lay down and rest. Later that day when Elizabeth finally woke back up she could hear voices in her room. She glanced over and saw her grandfather sitting in a chair in the corner talking on the phone, he smiled up at her when he finally noticed she was awake.

“Alright dear she has just woken up. Yes I’ll tell her for you. Okay be careful, love you.” Tom said before hanging up the phone.

“Well hello dear. How are you feeling?” Tom asked Elizabeth.

“Hi grandpa. I’m feeling a little queasy but otherwise I feel okay. Where’s Dad and Mum?” Elizabeth responded, sitting up in the bed.

“Your mother and grandmother didn’t think you would be awake just yet so they ran home to get us some more clothes and such. Your father had been in the middle of a case of his own when John called and told him you’d been kidnapped, so once his superiors heard you were safe they made him return to wrap up the case. Your mother just told me that he should be back here in a few days dear.”.

“Oh….okay then.” Elizabeth slumped down in the bed.

“What is grandpa not good enough for you?” Tom chuckled, moving so that he was sitting on the edge of the bed.

“No you are! I promise! I just really miss mom and dad especially after everything that has happened.”  
Tom sighed, he could tell Elizabeth was still shaken from her experience and was just looking for the comfort of her parents.

“Well how about we find something to watch on t.v. and maybe see if we can get some food in your system?” Tom suggested.

“That sounds like a good plan.” Elizabeth smiled, leaning over and giving Tom a hug.

Tom summoned the nurse who brought in some food so Elizabeth could attempt to eat again, but regrettably to no avail. Elizabeth struggled to stay awake afterwards so that she could talk to her grandfather more but her body was feeling too weak and begging her to sleep.

Noticing that Elizabeth was dozing off, Tom stood up and said, “Elizabeth I know this has been a tough time for you, but I am here for you. To be honest I haven’t been as scared as I was for you in so long, honestly it’s probably been since your grandmother got trapped in a fallen canal tunnel.”  
Elizabeth smiled up at Tom as he walked over to her and he gave her a kiss on the forehead. He proceeded to go downstairs to get some food for himself while she slept. Once he returned to her room he made himself comfy in the lounge chair and turned the T.V. back on. The next few days ended up being a blur for Elizabeth, but she was thankful that her grandfather never left her bedside besides for food. He made sure she was able to talk to her mother but was unable to get a hold of her father. After a few days the day finally came where Elizabeth was to be released from the hospital, and thankfully it was also the same day that her mother returned to Midsomer.

“Alright, you will probably still have some nausea and struggle to eat some but it is perfectly normal. You shouldn’t need to be too concerned unless there's blood or you haven’t been able to keep food down for days.” The nurse told Elizabeth.  
The nurse proceeded to hand Elizabeth a bunch of paperwork with suggestions for diet, therapy, etc. Shortly after the nurse left Tom and Elizabeth proceeded to leave the hospital room and made their way downstairs to a waiting Cully and Joyce.

“Mom! Grandma! I’ve missed you guys so much!” Elizabeth cried out as she ran and hugged her mother.

“Oh sweetie I’ve missed you so much as well. I was so terrified for you but I’m so glad that you’re okay.” Cully said as she embraced Elizabeth.

“I’m so glad you’re safe! That was very terrifying, I’m just glad that your father and John were able to find you in time.” Joyce said as Elizabeth let go of her mother and hugged her.  
Shortly after they finally made their way to the Barnaby’s. As soon as Elizabeth walked in the door Sarah wrapped Elizabeth in a huge hug.

“Oh honey I’m so glad that you’re safe and okay! Don’t worry I’ve already yelled at John for you and so has your father so try not to be too angry at him.” Sarah said.

“Would you let the poor girl breathe Sarah?” Elizabeth heard John say.  
Sarah released Elizabeth from her embrace so that Elizabeth could make her way into the living room. Elizabeth looked around and saw John standing in the doorway to the kitchen looking at her.

“I am so sorry that I didn’t believe you that something was wrong but I am glad that you are okay.” John said, looking a bit sheepishly at his feet.

Elizabeth looked at John sternly for a moment before she put her hands on her hips and said, “Well even with me telling you how suspicious that woman was I never would have pictured any of what actually happened, happening so thank you for seeing reason and saving me.”.

“Honestly, your father and Nelson are probably more to thank for saving you than I am.”.

“Speaking of Nelson, he and Kate will be here soon! So John let’s go get dinner ready! Please make yourselves comfy in the meantime.” Sarah said, ushering John into the kitchen.  
Nelson and Kate showed up just as the food was finishing cooking, and everyone made their way out back and began to eat. Elizabeth enjoyed listening to her grandfather and John talk about their old cases together while they ate. Shortly after dinner Cully’s phone started ringing and she stepped to the side to answer it. Once she hung up the phone Cully came back to the gathering and sat down next to Elizabeth.

“Hey honey that was dad on the phone. He said that he is on his way and is hoping to be here by morning at the latest.”.

Elizabeth smiled at her mother before John interjected, “Would you mind if I borrow Elizabeth for a quick minute?”.  
Elizabeth sighed and gave her mother a quick hug before standing up and following John away from the group.

“So I will need to get an official statement from you on the events that happened. I have asked everyone not to ask you too many questions until afterwards. I figured it would be best to wait until the day after tomorrow so that you can rest. Does that sound alright to you?” John asked.

“Yeah that’s fine. But what about Angela and company? Have they given their official statements? If so, may I listen to them?” Elizabeth replied.

“Well right before Gavin left we managed to interrogate Simone and Vince so yes you may listen to those. Regarding Angela we figured it would be best to wait until you could join us.”.

“Wait really? You want me to help you interrogate Angela?”.

“I feel she may try to twist the story and I would like you there so that we may be able to get the real truth out of her sooner.”.

“Honestly, I’ll consider it. I’m not quite sure that I will be ready to face her again just yet. But I do thank you for the opportunity. But I think I am going to head to bed for the night, I’m exhausted, goodnight.”  
Elizabeth gave everyone a hug and thanked them before she made her way back into the house and went up to her room where she attempted to sleep. Regrettably nightmares kept waking her up, so in the early hours of the morning, she finally gave up and went downstairs to make herself a cup of tea.

“Hey honey, can’t sleep?” Elizabeth heard her mother ask, from the doorway of the kitchen.

“No I kept waking up and having nightmares so figured I’d try to have a cup of tea and see if that’d help calm my mind.” Elizabeth responded.

“Well how about we turn on the t.v. and see if we can find something to watch? I know that generally helps your father when he has too much on his mind to sleep.” Cully smiled at Elizabeth.  
Elizabeth nodded and they went and turned on the t.v., not too long after Cully was sound asleep again. Elizabeth quietly got up and went back to the kitchen and sat down at the dining room table looking out the window pondering John’s request for her to join them in interviewing Angela.

  
A little bit later Sarah woke up and found Elizabeth sitting in the kitchen, “Hey dear how are you doing? If you’d feed Betty for me I’ll make us a delicious breakfast.”.

“Yeah that sounds like a plan. I’m doing okay, kept having nightmares so didn’t really sleep that well.” Elizabeth replied.  
Sarah smiled over at Elizabeth and started to make breakfast as Elizabeth fed Betty and anxiously waited for her fathers arrival. Just as they were finishing eating breakfast Tom walked into the kitchen smiling.

“Well look who I found in the driveway!.” He exclaimed before stepping aside to reveal Gavin.

“Dad!” Elizabeth shouted, jumping up from the table and running into her father’s arms burying her face deep into his chest. “I’ve missed you so much dad! I’m so glad you’re here and that you were able to save me!” Elizabeth said, beginning to cry tears of joy.

Gavin smiled down at Elizabeth as he hugged her back tightly, “I missed you as well sweetie. And of course I came to save you what sort of father would I be if I didn’t.”.

Tom watched the sweet encounter for a few moments before saying, “So I was thinking, if you’re up to it that is, going around midsomer for the day? We can all show you some of our favorite places that have the best memories and just have a nice family day. What do you guys think?”.

“Yes I’d love that so much grandpa.” Elizabeth said smiling up at Tom.  
They spent the rest of the afternoon exploring midsomer and enjoying being together again as a family. After a bit of sightseeing Cully, Joyce, and Elizabeth decided to stop and do a little bit of shopping while Gavin and Tom sat on a bench nearby.

"Troy, I can tell something is bothering you. Now I don't expect you to tell me but I do recommend you opening up to your daughter, you both have been through quite a bit these past few weeks." Tom said.

"Yeah, I suppose you’re right. I just didn't really get a chance to earlier." Gavin replied.

"That is true. You know, I mildly wish I could be there tomorrow and see how she handles herself interrogating Angela." Tom said.

Gavin smiled, "Honestly I'm curious as well seeing as she is a mix of me and you."

"You make a good point there Troy. I just hope that she doesn't take after your driving skills."

"Tom, Gavin over here we found a nice place for dinner!" They heard Joyce shout.

Both men got up from the bench and followed the girls to the restaurant. Gavin spent the rest of the evening trying to find a good moment to talk to Elizabeth alone but with no luck. They returned to the Barnaby's shortly after eating dinner, Sarah suggested Gavin and Cully should spend the night again. Joyce and Tom gave Elizabeth a hug and made their way back to the hotel. Elizabeth went to bed not too long after they left, but struggled to sleep again that night. So she got up to make herself a cup of tea only to find, to her surprise, that her father was awake as well.

"Dad? What are you doing awake?" Elizabeth inquired.

"I could ask you the same question dear." Gavin responded.

"Honestly….. I keep having these awful nightmares."

"Well, how about I make a nice cup of tea and we can talk if you would like."  
Elizabeth nodded and sat down at the kitchen table while Gavin made the tea, once done he sat down next to her and waited for Elizabeth to talk.

"To be honest the nightmares are just that I'm still kidnapped, and still tied up with no hope of being free." Elizabeth sighed.

Gavin looked at Elizabeth before putting a reassuring hand on hers, "Yeah, to be honest, I keep having the same dream as well that you're still being held captive or that I wasn't able to rescue you in time."

"I never doubted that you'd save me in time dad. Once I heard them say that you were helping John and Charlie I felt better, if not safer, as odd as that may sound."

"Well I'm glad you have that much faith in me. But listen, when all this started…when that woman showed up at the station and you got worried. I was wondering why you didn’t reach out to me or your mother?"

"I don't know, I guess I figured since John didn't really believe me that you guys wouldn't either. I mean, be honest, if I called you and said some woman I didn't recognize knew my name and knew I was related to you would you really have been worried or imagined this happening?"

Gavin sighed as he pondered Elizabeth's question for a moment, "I don't think any of us would have pictured this happening, but I would have been worried especially outside of the Barnaby’s no one here should have known that you were my child."  
Elizabeth smiled at her father and they both finished their tea in silence.

"I think I'm gonna try to get a bit more sleep so that I'm a bit more rested to face Angela tomorrow. Thanks again for everything dad." Elizabeth said, standing up and giving her father a big hug.

"Sweet dreams dear." Gavin replied, giving Elizabeth a kiss on her forehead.  
Once she was upstairs Gavin returned to the couch and turned on the t.v hoping that he would also be able to get some more sleep as well. The next morning they ate a quick breakfast and made their way down to the station. They met Charlie outside of the interview room before they made their way inside.

As soon as everyone sat down and was comfortable John looked at Elizabeth and said, “Okay we just need to know, in as much detail as you can offer us, exactly what happened to you. Start with when you were at the church, and tell us all the way up until we saved you.”.  
Elizabeth proceeded to tell them every detail that she could remember of her kidnapping all the way up to when Charlie ran up the tower to save her.

“Thank you Elizabeth, now I would like us to take a few moments to recollect ourselves and then we will sit down with Angela.” John said motioning for Gavin to follow him.

Charlie glanced over at Elizabeth, who looked lost in thought, and asked, “Hey are you doing alright?”

Elizabeth looked up at Charlie, “Mostly alright. I’m nervous to be in the same room as Angela, and I’m nervous about what she will say. It was also a bit unnerving trying to remember everything about my kidnapping. But, on the other hand, I’m also ready for answers about why she did it to begin with.”.

“I don’t blame you for being nervous but me, John, and your father will be there to help and support you as needed. Besides, I’m fairly certain your father and John are planning on doing all the questioning.” Charlie replied.

“So you guys expect me to just sit back and not try to ask any questions of my own, or call her out on her lies?” Elizabeth scoffed.

“No! I figured it would possibly calm you a bit to know that they were going to have control over the interview.” Nelson replied.

“Oh….sorry, like I said I’m just a bit nervous.” Elizabeth replied.

“ So you guys ready?” John asked, popping his head into the room.  
Elizabeth and Nelson both nodded and followed John and Gavin towards the interview room where Angela was sitting waiting for them.


	12. Chapter 12

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> It is time to interview Angela! Will she cooperate? Will Elizabeth be able to help get her to confess?

Gavin and John entered the interview room and sat down across from Angela, who had a smug grin on her face. Elizabeth and Nelson entered the room right behind them but stood near the door after they shut it.

John started the recorder before asking, “So you’re Angela Wentworth whose husband was Stephen Wentworth correct?”.

“Yes that is quite correct.”.

“And he ended up killing himself so as to avoid prison…..” John began to say.

“He did NOT kill himself! The man sitting next to you pushed him off of that tower thus killing him!”.

“I did no such thing! I was trying to stop him!” Gavin retaliated.

“So is that why you kidnapped Elizabeth?” Nelson quickly intervened.

“If you want to get technical I’m not the one who kidnapped her.” Angela replied.

Gavin rolled his eyes and huffed, “Fine, is that why you hired Simone and Vince to kidnap her?”.

“I’m not sure what you are referring to.” .  
Elizabeth crossed her arms across her chest and began to tap her foot in annoyance trying to find a good way to respond.

“We have a witness who says that you signed their bail check and then proceeded to send Charles Jennings to pick them up from the jail.” John responded.

“Plus I saw you here at the police station the day that I arrived here in Midsomer! You knew who I was and knew that I would be at the station!” Elizabeth finally blurted out.

“Now how does all of that make me the mastermind behind all of this?” Angela inquired.

“Because all of your cohorts claim that the only reason they did any of this was because you made them.” Nelson scoffed.

“Plus I heard you scheming and telling everyone what to do!” Elizabeth added.

Angela smiled up at Elizabeth, “Now darling weren’t you under the influence of drugs? How can you be so certain that it was me that you were hearing?”.  
Elizabeth froze for a moment staring at Angela fighting to remember just one moment where she could be certain that it was Angela that she had been hearing.

“When you guys took me to the church! I heard you ordering Simone and Vince around!”.

“So, that means that I was part of the scheme all along? Are you really telling me that you can’t even be certain that it was me until that moment? If you think about it then there is no way that I could have been behind this the whole time.” Angela responded.  
Elizabeth stood still for a moment letting everything Angela said process. After a moment she turned and stormed out of the interview room. Gavin went to follow her but just before he could stand up Charlie ran out the door after her.

Gavin turned back towards Angela, “Are you happy with yourself?”.

“How about you boys go check on her and come back and talk to me once you have more proof that I am indeed the one who kidnapped her.” Angela cooed.

“Oh we have the proof, it is more just getting you to admit to what you have done. But yes I do agree a short break is needed.” John replied, motioning for Gavin to follow him.

*************

Charlie finally managed to catch up with Elizabeth just outside, “Elizabeth are you okay? What’s wrong?”.

“That was awful! I feel like she took my brain from my skull and scrambled it and threw it back in. I’m no longer certain if anything I thought I remembered actually happened or not!”.

“Well maybe you should use this time to listen to Barnaby’s and your father’s interview with Simone and Vince? Maybe it could help you to remember.” Charlie suggested.

“Yes you’re quite right….but, I think that I need to be the one who talks to them instead.”.

“Why is that? I mean John has already spoken to them I’m not sure if he’d let you as well.”.

“Oh he will let me, I promise you that much. But as to why I want to, let me put it this way, imagine you are working on solving a murder case but you have to listen to interview's of the suspects. You can’t actually interview them yourself, it would all be second hand. Now tell me would you confidently be able to solve the case?” Elizabeth retorted.

After pondering her question for a moment Charlie responded, “Well I feel I could probably solve the case but, it wouldn’t be with 100% confidence so I do see your point.”.

Elizabeth smirked, “Good I’m glad you see my point. Now I’m hungry, let's go get lunch.”.  
After eating lunch Elizabeth made her way to John’s office where she could see John and her father talking.

She took a deep breath and entered, “Alright, so I’m going to go talk to Simone and Vince before we talk to Angela again. I have some questions that need to be answered.”.

“Why do you need to talk to them? Gavin and I have already interviewed them, I don’t really think you need to as well.” John replied.

“Oh you misunderstand me, I’m not asking for your permission. I already had officers bring them to an open interview room. I am just making you aware of what I’m doing.”  
Gavin let out a muffled laugh as he shook his head slightly at how bold she was being.

“Indulge me then, why do you feel this is necessary then?” John sighed.

“Well, as I described it to Charlie, say you were trying to solve a murder case but you aren’t allowed to interview any of the suspects you are only allowed to listen to recordings of someone else interviewing them. Now would you be able to solve the case with 100% certainty not being able to talk or question the suspects yourself?” Elizabeth responded.

“Fine, but I require that at least Nelson be with you. Also, I’d rather this not take all day so I'll give you about an hour.” John said as Elizabeth turned and left the room.

“Oh her mother would be so proud of her right now. You sure you still want her to help you out around here?” Gavin responded.

“Yeah I think we could use a little bit more of that around here.”.

*****************

Elizabeth somewhat reluctantly went and got Charlie and asked him if he would wait just outside of the interview room. Charlie agreed to wait outside but promised to keep an eye on Simone and Vince just in case. Elizabeth went in and began to interview Simone and Vince. About a half hour later Elizabeth signaled to Charlie to get some officers to take Simone and Vince back to their cells.

As Elizabeth and Charlie made their way back towards John’s office Charlie finally asked, “So how did it go in there?”.

“It went fine enough. I am definitely feeling more confident if that is what you’re asking.”  
As they walked into the office they found that neither John nor Gavin were there.

“I guess you must have been a bit quicker than anticipated.” Charlie stated.

“I guess so….well while we wait for them to get back can you tell me about Charles? Simone and Vince mentioned he kept trying to send you guys clues and he let himself be captured by you guys all to try to save me. I want to know if it is true.”  
Charlie nodded and proceeded to tell Elizabeth everything regarding Charles and also how they went about rescuing her. Just as Charlie was finishing John and Gavin walked in.

“Oh good you guys are done already, how did it go?” John asked.

“I am ready to finish the interview with Angela.” Elizabeth replied.

“Very good now our main goal is to get Angela to confess to what she has done is that clear?” John stated.  
Everyone nodded and they all made their way back into the interview room with, once again, Gavin and John sitting at the table with Angela and Charlie and Elizabeth standing just behind them.

“Well, that was rather quick. So you must finally realize that I am innocent?” Angela inquired.

Gavin snorted, “More like we still know that you’re guilty and we are here to make you realize that.”.

“Well instead of you dears, why not dear Elizabeth try to get me to confess? Especially since she ran out of here so uncertain last time.” Angela grinned at them.

Elizabeth smirked as she moved closer to the table, “Alright well, unlike last time this time around I actually spoke to Simone and Vince. They admitted that they actually had no desire for revenge and that they had hoped when they heard they had been bailed from jail that they would be free to live their lives. But, since it was you who set them free that you basically conned them into helping you.”.

“Oh please! How do you call that proof?” Angela scoffed.

“I wasn’t finished yet. So, they also confirmed that everything I remember was indeed accurate and they also helped me to fill in the blanks of the stuff I couldn’t remember. Now before I continue, I would recommend that you just make it easier on yourself and come clean.” Elizabeth replied.

Angela looked from Elizabeth to Gavin to John debating her next move, “You truly are your father’s child it's rather nauseating. Fine, yes I forced Simone and Vince to help me kidnap you. Are you happy now?” .

“Not quite yet. You were confessing to quite a bit in the church. I would love a recap on that.” John interjected.

Angela sighed, “I’m not sure when the desire for revenge started but it was probably about the time I found out that Gavin was married. Like why should he get a spouse and happiness? Sure I wasn’t totally happy with Stephen but I did find myself missing him after he killed him.”.

“I did not kill your husband! I was trying to stop him from killing himself!” Gavin huffed.

“Yes, and I did believe you at first. I know Stephen would have done just about anything to avoid jail, but you were the only one up there no one else saw for certain. As time went on the more I began to wonder if you killed him. Then I realized it wasn’t fair that you got to walk away with no punishment. That was my motive for all of this not that you killed Stephen, I could honestly care less that he is dead, but that you had no consequences for your carelessness. So I tried to devise a plan to murder your wife but, make it look like an accident. But of course, by the time I came up with a good plan I found out that she was pregnant and didn’t have the heart to kill her. But years later my dear Charles, who had been helping to take care of me, mentioned that he had heard that your child was on her way to becoming a detective herself. Well now that resparked my anger that there would be two Gavin Troy’s basically running around murdering people. So I did some snooping and found out where you were going to intern at my dear. I made it well worth their while to make sure that you were so miserable there that you would quit and give up on your dream to be a detective.” Angela said.

Everyone was silent for a moment before Charlie finally inquired, “So then how did you find out Elizabeth was coming here?”.

“Charles of course. He had overheard Elizabeth and Tom talking, with him encouraging her to keep going and to come here. That his relative John would gladly help her out.” Anglea replied.

“So when did you get Simone and Vince involved?” Elizabeth asked.

“Oh not too long after. I knew Charles and I could not possibly do this all alone, so I did a bit of snooping into Gavin’s old cases and tried to find the people who were still alive and would want revenge.”.

“So tell me how did this plan unfold?” John replied.

“Well at first I wanted them to simply lure her up the church tower and shove her off of it and be done with it! But, of course, they would not do it! They drugged her and took her to that bloody schoolhouse. They came up with the plan of scaring Gavin and having him spend a week or two fearing that we were going to kill her. I almost had to force them to take her back to the church and have our little showdown fun. They promised me they would finally kill her and make it so it was in front of you. Those bloody cowards!” Angela seethed.  
Elizabeth stood frozen in shock at the revelation of what was actually supposed to happen to her.

“Thank you for your cooperation. We are going to put you back in your cell pending a hearing where a judge will decide your final fate.” John said after a moment of silence.  
Charlie signaled to an officer to take Angela away.

Gavin turned to look at Elizabeth, “You okay dear?”.

“Yeah I think so… was just a bit shocking to hear all of that.”.

“You’re telling me. Well how about we head out of here if John doesn’t need us any longer? Maybe we can stop and get some ice cream?” Gavin asked, standing up and looking at John.

“Yes you guys are free to go. Nelson and I will wrap things up here and we will see you back at the house.” John replied.

“I would like that very much.” Elizabeth replied, hugging her father tightly before they turned and left the police station.


	13. Epilogue

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Just a final piece to wrap up the story!

A few days after Angela’s confession Sarah and John decided to throw a little celebration party. It was also time for Tom and Joyce to make their way home along with Gavin and Cully. Elizabeth had spent the past few days debating on whether she was going to stay in Midsomer or go home as well. Just as the party was getting in full swing outside Tom pulled Elizabeth to the side.

“So have you made your decision?” Tom asked.

“Yes I have grandpa don’t you worry.” Elizabeth responded.

“Good! Now, I just want you to know that I am beyond proud of you. Your father told me about how you handled yourself in that interview. I also want you to know that I will fully support you no matter what you choose dear.” Tom replied.  
Elizabeth smiled at her grandfather before giving him a big hug. After a moment Elizabeth broke the hug and they made their way back to the party. Not too long after everyone sat down and proceeded to eat dinner. As soon as everyone was done eating Elizabeth stood up finally ready to announce her decision.

“So are you finally going to tell us what you decided?” Sarah asked excitedly.

“Well, it was a bit of a rough start and honestly at first I did not want to stay. But, after some serious thought I have decided that I am going to stay and hope for the best.”.

“I knew it!” Tom exclaimed.  
Everyone laughed and gave Elizabeth a round of congratulations and you will do awesome as they then proceeded to clean up. After everyone left for the night Elizabeth went up to her room to get ready for bed. Shortly after Gavin and Cully went upstairs to talk with Elizabeth.

“Hey honey you still up?” Cully asked, knocking on the door.

“Yeah come in.”.

“Hey so me and mom are going to probably head out early tomorrow morning so we just wanted to say goodnight and probably goodbye.” Gavin said sitting down on the bed next to Elizabeth.

“We just want to let you know how proud we are of you dear. And also please honey don't ever hesitate to call me or your father or your grandparents if you need anything at all. We are here for you.” Cully said, walking around to the other side of the bed to give Elizabeth a hug.

“Yes and also please try to be careful while solving these cases, I would never have guessed that one of my old cases was going to come back and haunt me in such a way. So just keep in mind that forgotten ghosts can come back to haunt you when you solve these cases.” Gavin said.

“I promise I will be careful and that I will call as often as possible.” Elizabeth Replied.  
Cully gave Elizabeth another hug and a kiss on the forehead.

“Now goodnight sweetheart and good luck!”.

“Goodnight mom! Love you!”.

Gavin gave Elizabeth a big hug and a kiss on the cheek before also standing up to leave.

“Goodnight dad, thank you again for everything.”.

“Anytime my dear. Now get some rest.” Gavin replied before giving her another hug and following Cully out of the room.

“Goodnight I love you guys!” Elizabeth shouted after them.

“We love you too.” They responded as they closed her door.  
The next morning Elizabeth attempted to wake up early enough to see her parent’s off but they had already gone. Sarah made a delicious breakfast, but just as they were getting ready to eat John’s phone rang. He stepped off to the side to answer it, as he hung up the phone he smiled at Elizabeth.

“Well that was Nelson, apparently there has been a murder. Would you like to join us this time?” .

Elizabeth smiled and jumped up, “Yes I think I shall. Just give me a moment to change and I will be down to join you.”  
Elizabeth ran upstairs and quickly changed excited to help solve her first case.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Thank you for reading! I appreciate everyone who has read this story and also everyone who has left Kudos! If you would like to read about Elizabeth solving a case or two in midsomer with john and nelson let me know!


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